Unkind Mankind
by LeeshyLoo
Summary: Chihiro, now 21, has a passion for trying to save the spirits' homes from her side in the Human World by becoming a protester. Though sometimes her 'hobby' can be quite dangerous, and as a result, Chihiro is caught in an accident. Haku senses the danger, and comes to her rescue. Though wise words from Zeniba tell him that his worst fears may become reality.
1. Prologue

**UNKIND MANKIND**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**********(Chihiro is now 21)**

**Edit: I've changed some grammar mistakes and sentence structures, etc. Hope it sounds a little better.**

**Chapter 1 - Prologue**

I feel the warm Spring wind softly caressing my face as I walk along the forest floor, and hear the sound of every crunch of the fallen dead leaves beneath my step. I look around me and think about what used to take its place here. _'Another one gone' _I thought, the taste of pollution and dust filling my mouth, leaving a sort of dry and bitter aftertaste on my tongue. I struggle to breathe in the faint scent of smog tainting the air, breaking its way into my lungs as if it has a murderous intent. Though I still live, I feel as though a small part of my soul has died this day. _'I hate humans', _my mind told me. Though it may seem ironic, I listen to this voice, embrace it even; and I agree with it.

Humans. Disgusting creatures. It may be hard to believe, but they weren't always this way, like the greedy pigs they are today. _'Greedy pigs. That's funny. Good one, Chihiro.'_ I sarcastically thought while continuously staring at the ground, the faintest bittersweet smile on my face at the half-hearted joke of the childhood memory. Realising that I'd been walking for hours now, I decided to sit up against one of the many tree stumps on the dead forest floor. Leaning against the round stump, I could almost _taste _the chainsaws and machinery used to cut down what once was this forest. I release my long, chestnut hair from its binds and tilt my head backwards to stare at nothing in particular. Steadily holding up my right hand, I carefully examine the small, rope-like colourful object. My bored grey eyes flick up to the matching dull sky. I remember when I got this hairband, even though I was only ten years old at the time. Though I'm surprised it doesn't look worn out or the elastic hasn't broken. Even so, eleven years later, I still remember my adventure in the Spirit World.

I remember everything from the Spirit World. Everything. Zeniba, Yubaba, Boh, Lin and Kamaji; and Haku. _'Which reminds me,_ I thought, my mind wandering to the river spirit. _I'll go back to the Kohaku River this afternoon, try to get it as clean as possible. It's such a shame that those apartment buildings were built there in the first place; but no matter, I got enough signatures on my petition, and now that retched building is gone forever. I just wish there wasn't so much garbage and pollution. I guess it's too late to complain now though, since I've already cleaned most of it up.' _I sighed, stretching the sparkly purple material and tying my hair back up in its usual, high ponytail. Standing up, I make my way over to the other protesters in the group that I'm a part of.

That's right, I'm a part of a small protesting group in my town; trying to save as many trees and forests as possible. Oddly enough, I was greatly influenced by my trip to the Spirit World, and Haku in particular. In fact, I never really got over leaving him, leaving everyone behind. I mean, he was my closest friend; he saved my life, and I saved his. Then there's his promise to me. He still hasn't kept it, from eleven years ago. I can't blame him though, for he's probably unable to get here, in the Human World. That's when I had the idea a few years ago to clean up his river, thinking that maybe he could reach me through it somehow.

As I arrive at the edge of a forest, whose life we're desperately trying to save, I notice that some of the other protesters have made signs. A young woman, Hatori, flicks her hazel eyes in my direction. I give a curt nod, and she nods back. No words were said. Not even a single mutter; but words were not needed, for we knew what was to come. The sudden clanking of machinery is heard among the group. We position ourselves within the trees.

I feel the rough, scratchy bark on my clothed back. Its branches desperately clawing at my sides, as if the tree were to say "Don't cut me down. Don't let me die. Don't let the sap within me dry." I feel a cold, nervous shiver run down the length of my back; and in that moment I knew, no, I _felt _that it was now or never.

I can't hear anything. My ears are throbbing. My vision slows down. _'They aren't stopping. You have to get out of here.' _My mind told me. No. I can't do that. I can't run. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't do it. My legs can't, no, _won't _move. Someone's calling out my name. Hatori? I can't be sure. Everything sounds muffled, as if I were under water. The earth is quaking. My legs can't stop shaking. My head a slowly rotating platform. I blink, but it feels like it'll take decades before my eyes finally slide shut. My heart pounding out of my chest. It wants to explode into a million pieces. I could've sworn I saw pair of familiar green eyes; but it couldn't have been, could it? No, it's not possible. _'Just ignore it Chihiro, it's all in your head.'_

Suddenly I could hear again, my vision clear once more. The machinery engines roaring in my ears. Trees being torn down. Devastated and afraid, I quickly and swiftly turn my head to the left, squeezing my eyes shut; clenching my teeth together and my fists balled tightly at my sides, my knuckles turning white.

"Chihiro." I hear someone whisper, almost as if the winds were calling out to me, panic in its wistful tone. I snap my eyes open for a brief moment, before I realise what situation I'm getting myself into.

An unusually warm feeling seeping throughout my body and the overpowering stench of blood fills my nostrils, suffocating my lungs with its vice-like grip. A bloodcurdling scream unknowingly escapes my trembling lips, and then, nothing. An eerie calm washes over my being, and suddenly reality sinks in. Every thought in every fibre of my being realises that I now know what it feels like to be the cut down tree.

~o~o~O~o~o~


	2. Numb

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**I'm just going to make it easy and count the prologue as Chapter 1.**

**Chapter 2 - Numb**

Numbness. It's all I feel, and all I am. I am surrounded by a dark chasm of shadows. The shadows consume me, yet the shadows welcome me; I am one with the shadows. The rigid claws of black nothingness beckon me deeper down into the darkness.

"Chihiro." The voice calls again. The voice is soothing to my ears. I find this voice comforting in all this unfamiliarity that surrounds me. I try to reach out to the voice, try to reach out to something familiar.

I break through a seemingly invisible barrier. _'I'm free.', _or so I thought.

~o~o~O~o~o~

Somewhere in an unknown land to most, a young man gasps for desperate breaths of air, seemingly to have just woken from a nightmare.

The young man's face is plastered with sweaty strands of emerald green hair, his matching eyes unfocused, though staring across at his bed sheets. A pale hand shakily runs through his shoulder-length mass, attempting to calm himself.

A sudden thought hits him.

With his heart racing, the young man dashes out of his bedroom, down a hall and into an elevator. Pulling the lever hastily in an upwards direction, he impatiently paces the carpeted floor, hands behind his back and head bent downward.

When the elevator reaches the topmost floor of the building and the doors open, the young man dashes out and heads towards a specific set of double doors. Not bothering using the knocker, the young man pushes open the doors with both hands. Again he races down a few more hallways, eventually ending up at an office.

An old woman with an overly large head and wart just above her obscenely large nose looks up at the disheveled young man.

"What are you doing up at this hour? And what happened to you? You're a mess!" The old woman boomed.

"I haven't the time for this, Yubaba." The young man replied, a sort of fire within his emerald eyes. The old woman, Yubaba, seems to have gotten the message. The matter was obviously serious, or so she hoped.

"What is it, Haku?" Yubaba questioned the young man, now a more serious tone in her voice than before.

"It's Chihiro, I think she might be in danger." Haku replied, attempting to keep a calm tone. Yubaba, however, didn't find the conversation to be so serious anymore. Instead, she laughed. The old woman laughed as if her voice box were replaced by that of a witch.

There were always times when Haku would try to trick her into letting him find Chihiro, an apparent 'friend' of his. And so, the old crone thought this as another plan of trickery of his.

"I'm being serious, Yubaba. I can _feel_ it." When Haku had said those words though, Yubaba took note of the complete and utter seriousness in his tone. This time, there was no winey or depressed tone in his voice. In fact, it was pure seriousness and determination, among other certain emotions, but she would dwell on those later.

Yubaba frowned.

"Are you sure?" Haku was starting to get impatient now. He raised his voice a little.

"Of course I'm sure! Every piece of my being is _screaming_ at me to help her!" He composed himself once more. "I have to find her."

"And how are you going to get to the Human World?" This issue was another matter.

"I'll find a way, there's always a way." He paused. "I'll even visit your sister if it's necessary." Yubaba cackled once more.

"My sister! You would go see her just to see a petty human again! Ha! Like she'd ever help you! You stole her _precious golden seal!_" She mimicked those last three words as if she were pretending to be someone else, or rather, her sister.

"She forgave me." Haku muttered in reply.

"What?"

"I said," He spoke up. "She forgave me. Zeniba said she would forgive me if I looked after Chihiro. I need to keep my promise, both of them. I have to help her." Haku's determination hadn't died down in the least, although he seemed to have been remembering something, or a specific memory.

"I see." Yubaba paused. "Wait, both promises? What's the other one?"

"The most important promise I could ever have, and I need to keep it." Was all Haku had said. He said nothing more; he just left the room, leaving a confused Yubaba to her thoughts.

Minutes later, Haku was pacing around his bedroom, hands behind his back, head facing downward once more.

'_I have to think of something, anything!_' He thought. '_I have to see Chihiro again._' Haku sighed. '_I guess I'm going to have to go see Zeniba about it._' With that, Haku ran over to his balcony, and with swift movements stood on top of the railing. He then dived down, into the cool evening air.

In the distance, an elegant white dragon with an emerald mane flew down the train tracks and towards the slowly rising sun.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"Haku! What are you doing here? It's so early!" An old woman identical to Yubaba, wart and all, had opened her front door to find a wind-blown, disheveled Haku standing at her door. He was panting slightly, and the old woman took note of his distressed state. Her attire consisted of a light pink dressing gown; she obviously wasn't expecting company so early in the morning.

"Zeniba, its Chihiro. I think she might be in danger." The young man stated, trying to compose himself a little. Zeniba, the old woman, only nodded and opened the door wider so that Haku may enter.

"I see. I'll get my golden seal. Take a seat, dear." With that Zeniba disappeared into a hallway. Haku walked over to a rectangular dining table and sat at one of the seats. His foot tapped impatiently and uncontrollably.

Within a minute Zeniba returned with her most prized golden seal in her wrinkled hands. She sat down at the opposite side of the table to Haku, placing the golden seal on the surface.

"You should recognise this. After all, you _did _steal it from me." The look of guilt spread across the young man's face, making the old woman cackle.

"Calm down, boy! I forgave you years ago." Hearing these words, Haku visibly calmed a little.

"Now, let's see how Chihiro is doing." The woman placed her wrinkled hands in front of the precious object. She looked Haku in the eyes.

"Before she left here eleven years ago, No Face and I gave her a gift. We gave her a hairband with a protective spell on it." She paused. "Problem is the spell only works once. But, I have also placed a tracking spell on it, so I can keep an eye on her, see if she's okay."

"How? Can I see her?" Haku cut in, almost slamming both hands on the table as he abruptly stood up, his eyes desperate.

"Calm down now, dear." Haku sat down once more. "To answer your question, yes. You can see her, in a way. Just watch."

Now, Zeniba stared into the golden object, before closing her eyes in concentration. She then chanted some foreign words Haku had never heard of, and the seal started to glow. A pale blue light emitted from the golden seal. Haku was almost mesmerized by the light.

Then, about a foot above the seal, the same blue light glowed in the shape of a roughly drawn sphere. For a moment, Haku sat there, in anticipation; until an image within the sphere began to appear.

The young man sat there shocked at the sight he saw. Although, he didn't see Chihiro anywhere.

The image he saw was of a group of people crying. One of them, however, did catch his attention. A woman with caramel blonde hair, and teary hazel eyes was on the ground, kneeling and sobbing uncontrollably. This was not what caught his attention though. What caught his attention was the fact that she was calling out someone's name; Chihiro's name.

The image started flickering, and then disappeared, along with the blue glow. The golden seal lay lifeless on the table.

The room stood silent for a few minutes, before Haku muttered.

"What was that?"

"…"

Haku stood up once more, knocking the chair over with the force; his hands slammed on the wooden surface.

"What was that!? That wasn't Chihiro! And who was that woman calling Chihiro's name!?" Haku screamed. "Tell me Zeniba! I need to know if she's okay!"

Zeniba only sat there, her chin resting on her entwined hands, seemingly in deep thought. After a moment, she finally looked up at the distressed young man.

"We need to get you to the Human World." The old woman stated.

The next ten minutes found Haku impatiently pacing the floor once more, Zeniba still sitting in the same place she was in previously.

"What if-" Zeniba started, Haku perking. "No, that won't work." After a moment, Zeniba was struck with another idea. She looked up at the pacing man. "Haku, do you remember where your river is?" That said, within moments the man was replaced with a dragon, literally flying out the door.

Zeniba sighed.

"I'm afraid you may be too late, Haku."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Well, what do you think about the second chapter? Good? Bad? Review and let me know!**

**Thanks to the one reviewer that I got in the prologue chapter, Swansae515! I've brought another chapter, as you've requested. Hope you enjoyed!**


	3. Confusion

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 3 - Confusion**

Flying as fast as he could, the pearlescent dragon sped towards where he last remembered his river to be.

'I'm almost there. Hang on, Chihiro. I'm coming for you.'

~o~o~O~o~o~

I slowly sit up, repeatedly blinking to try ridding myself of the bleariness that creeps into my peripheral vision. A sweaty hand comes up to my head, pushing away some of the strands of hair that was previously plastered to my face.

I shakily get to my feet, trying to balance myself as I feel as though my mind isn't completely here; that I am but a viewer, watching and observing, but not hearing anything. Specks of black cloud the edges of my vision, and my body feels numb. I can't breathe, and I start to panic a little. Although as desperate gasps for air turn into a regular rhythm of breathing once more, I start to calm myself.

I lean against something, not entirely sure of my surroundings yet, attempting to hold my unstable body steady. Slowly my vision returns to normal, and I can hear again, though my legs are still a little shaky.

Feeling I can walk again, I push off of the object I was leaning against and try to walk a few paces. My legs are shaking, but I can manage. A dull pain is seeping throughout my body, but the pain isn't enough that I can't walk.

I take in my surroundings. I seem to be in a forest of a sort.

In the distance I hear sobbing; loud, uncontrollable sobbing. Curious, I tread towards the sounds.

After a few minutes, I reach a clearing. Pushing some tree branches aside, I get a clearer view of the source of the wailing.

I gasp. I know these people. They're from my protesting group. Over to the side I could see a woman on her knees crying and wailing uncontrollably from what it seems. She must be the source of all the noise. I recognise her caramel blonde hair.

"Hatori!" I call out to her, wanting to know how to comfort my friend. To my disdain, she doesn't respond, but I push the thought aside and decide she couldn't hear me. I walk closer and closer to her, until I'm merely a few feet away. A small sad smile crosses my face.

"Hatori, are you okay?" I repeat. Although, she still doesn't seem to hear me. My face falls at this discovery. Again, panic fills me. Why can't she hear me?

'Mum and dad!' I think. 'Maybe they can hear me!' And so, I run. I run back to the little blue house that my parents still live in. It's not very far away from what I can remember. My legs ache, but I push myself forward. I have to figure out what happened.

As I run, a strange thought pops up in my head.

'Why don't I feel tired? I've been running for about ten minutes now! Sure, my body aches for some reason, but I don't understand why I don't feel tired.' I try to dwell deeper into the subject. 'And somehow, I feel… lighter.' I shake my head, trying to forget about it and just concentrate on getting to my old home.

Two years ago, when I was nineteen, I decided to move out. The pain from knowing the Spirit World was so close made my heart ache. I had to get away from it all. So, I rented my very own apartment. That's where I met Hatori.

We were nothing but roommates at first, but then we started to get to know each other. I'm glad we met, I was so lonely. After I moved in, my parents and I got very distant from each other, but I still phoned them sometimes to talk about the minor issues I had, like the fact that the state of the environment was clearly bothering me.

That's when Hatori and I decided to make a protesting group, and start to clean up the rivers and the general environment. We put up flyers around town, and eventually got the necessary amount of people we needed and set off.

After about half an hour of pondering my thoughts and memories, I notice I'm coming close to my destination. Walking up the driveway, I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans and walk up to the front door.

We hadn't seen each other in years, so I can only hope that things won't be too awkward.

My shaking hand knocks twice on the white wooden door, noticing the slight chipping of the paint. I step back a small step as the door opens, suddenly very nervous. My mother, Yuuko, stood at the door, a confused expression on her face as she seemingly looks past me, not aware of my presence.

"Mum?" Confused, I wave a hand in front of her face, but retract it as she starts closing the door with a sigh.

"Damn kids." I hear before the door closes in front of my face. Tears well up in my eyes, I don't understand what's happening. Why can't anyone hear me? Why can't they see me? I sit down on one of the few steps at the front door, pulling my knees close to my body. I rest my head in my arms on top of my knees and let the tears flow. Just like when I was ten.

"What's happening to me…?" I manage to choke out, before breaking down into tears.

~o~o~O~o~o~

Reaching his river, the dragon returns to his home at the Kohaku River. The dragon transforms into a young man once more, before walking into his river. Now knee deep in the cool water, Haku closes his eyes. Concentrating, the man starts to melt and turn into the water from which he was currently standing in.

"Chihiro…" He whispered as he slowly disappeared into the water.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: What do you think will happen next? Is Chihiro still alive? Tell me what you think with a review! Also, sorry for the short chapter ^^"**

**Also, thanks to those who reviewed since I last updated. Those people were:**

**WhiteTiger246, blackrain1205 and Heartz4Jesus!**

**Thanks guys! I'll try to update every Friday if I can. (Australian time)**


	4. Hope

**Unkind Mankind**

**A/N: Sorry that I'm late in updating, I lost track of time painting, swimming in the pool and watching Lost ^^" It's still Friday though, so it's okay!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 4 - Hope**

"Chihiro…"

Hearing my name on the wind, I gasp, shooting upright from the steps. I look around me, searching for the host of the voice. 'I could've sworn I'd heard _his _voice.' I sigh. 'What am I thinking? That's impossible.' Shaking my head, I sit back down onto the step, bringing my knees up to my chest, and resting my head on top of my knees once more.

~o~o~O~o~o~

As the pearlescent dragon man gracefully rises out from his river, the water itself seems to rise with him, wanting to stay with him. The young man steps out of his river with equal grace, and hastily begins his search for his dear friend.

"Chihiro!" Haku calls, both hands cupped around his mouth at an attempt to amplify his desperate voice.

Within ten minutes of his continuous calls and pleas, he comes to the edge of a forest, or rather, the remains of one.

He gasps, a deep anguish easily read on his handsome face. He feels sorrow for the spirit whom would've owned this forest, and the young man's heart went out to them; he too knew what it truly felt like to lose your only home and have nothing left, to feel empty. He looks to the left of the forest, then to the right. Nothing was spared. Every tree had been cut down, and every creature had fled.

Although, about twenty metres ahead of him, Haku spots something. He walks towards the small area to get a closer look; it was almost a clearing of a sort, although not big enough to be noticeable from a distance.

Then he sees it.

He'd hoped this wouldn't be the case.

Blood. Lots of blood.

He runs, hoping there could still be a chance, placing all of his faith into the God's hands.

Reaching the horrific scene, he stops, he can't take it anymore.

"Oh god."

Haku crumples to the floor, clutching his head into his hands. His body wracks with uneven sobs.

He attempts to speak, but all that comes out of his mouth are nothing but broken, incoherent mumbles.

"Ch-hi-ro-?" Haku forces his trembling lips to move. "P-ple-ease w-wake u-up-!"

With slow, unsteady movements, Haku crawls closer to the body.

As he slowly inches his way over to his deceased friend, sudden memories of the past flash by within his mind.

"_You shouldn't be here. Get out of here, now!"_

"_Don't worry, it won't turn you into a pig."_

"_Three days of eating our food and her smell will go away. And if she doesn't work hard, roast her, boil her, do whatever you want."_

"_How did you know my name was Chihiro?"_

"_I've known you since you were very small."_

"_You don't remember your name?"_

"_No, but for some reason I remember yours."_

"_You did it Chihiro! I remember, I was the spirit of the Kohaku River!"_

Vision blurry with tears, Haku reaches out to her still body.

"_Will we meet again sometime?"_

"_Sure we will."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise. Now go, and don't look back."_

"Chihi-ro…" There's so much blood, he wouldn't have been able to tell what colour her clothes were.

Reaching forward, he cradles her form in his arms, rocking back and forth slightly.

"No… Chihiro please… Don't leave me…" He smooths back her once beautiful chestnut hair, now stained with her blood.

~o~o~O~o~o~

Zeniba watches the scene with tearful brown eyes, every wrinkle in her old face evident.

"Whatever Kami is out there, please bring her back."

~o~o~O~o~o~

I sigh and stand up, wiping the tear stains off of my presumably red face with the palms of my hands. 'Crying won't help you, Chihiro.' My mind tells me. 'I need to try and remember what happened to me. Maybe that'll help somehow.' I wrack my brain for my recent memories, trying to figure out why this is happening to me. As I think I walk down the driveway, and back towards my previous location. 'Think, Chihiro, think!' I reach a small park, and I stop.

I see children merrily playing together, blissfully unaware of my presence. I watch them carefully as they build their sandcastles in the sandbox, and command their parents that they go 'Higher!' as they giggle and laugh joyously on the swing set. I sit down on a nearby bench, resting my hands in my lap. I stare at the children mindlessly, not really looking at anything in particular.

One boy in particular, though, catches my attention. His appearance wasn't anything flashy; short blonde hair, hazel eyes. It was his actions, however, that caught my sudden attention. He had obviously lost interest in what he was previously doing. The little boy stood up, ridded himself of the sand as best as he could, before trudging his way over to the other end of the sandbox. I notice the expression his face holds, nose wrinkled a little in disgust, brows furrowed and a gleam in his little eyes.

Jealousy. Pure jealousy.

I carefully watch as the little boy walks over to a little girl, her hands ever so gentle as she builds her own sand castle. Then, as if everything were suddenly moving in slow motion, the little girl looks up at him, curious as to what he'll do. The boy lifts his arms and right foot up, before stomping his little foot down as hard as he can, onto the little girl's sand castle. The girl shouts out to him to stop, tears quickly filling her eyes, before running down her chubby cheeks. She just sits there, wailing, letting the boy tear her hard work to pieces, along with her little heart. The boy, however, doesn't stop. Instead, he stomps harder into the sand whilst yelling "Die, die, die!", his hurtful words aimed towards his foot's victim.

'Die?' I think, looking into my hands, willing myself to remember.

And then it hits me.

"Oh my god, I'm dead."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: So, how was it? Sorry again for another short chapter, but I just didn't know what else to write. Tell me what you think of the last bit, with the little boy stomping on the girl's castle. What did you think of the part where Haku was having flashbacks? Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**WhiteTiger246, Heartz4Jesus and Chihiro no Ryuu!**


	5. Reborn

**Unkind Mankind**

**A/N: There's a little bit of swearing at the start. My apologies if you don't like that, I'm trying to keep it to a minimum.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 5 – Reborn**

My hands fly to my mouth and my eyes widen as I gasp in sudden realisation. 'No way, this can't be real!' My mind screams at me.

"I've got to be dreaming!" Hot tears prickle the corners of my eyes, eager to flow down my cheeks like waterfalls. "I don't understand… I'm dead, but… how?"

And then it hits me.

"Oh, shit."

~o~o~O~o~o~

He has no idea how long he's been there like that, cradling his deceased friend to his body, nor does he care. Haku has just lost his first friend, childhood crush, teen sweetheart, and his soul mate. It's as if all his dreams were kept in one big, glass bottle. Then somebody comes along, picks up the bottle, and smashes it on the ground, each and every dream shattering like the glass that made the bottle.

They're both covered in her blood, as if they were both bleeding; as if they were one being. Then, a slight breeze blows by the broken-hearted man and his bloodied friend. Suddenly feeling another presence, Haku snaps his head up, and looks behind him.

Scanning the area, he notices something unusual. Then, to confirm his suspicions, about seven or so people step forward towards the clearing. Another, and another, and another steps forward, until the pair were surrounded by about thirty people, all dressed strangely and their skin of all different shades of the colour spectrum. Although, these people aren't ordinary people; they are all spirits. Spirits of different forests, rivers, flowers, rocks; you name it. They all walk forward, carefully and slowly, as if to not disturb the couple. Their heads bent downward, and their hands clasped together, as if they were praying.

The spirits stop when only merely a few metres away from the pair, creating a semicircle around Haku and Chihiro. All at once, the spirits kneel down before them, and start to chant in unison. Haku watches through emerald eyes still blurry with tears, wondering what they could possibly be doing. Why are they all here? He would've asked himself, but his mind is too perplexed to think right now. He doesn't recognise the language the spirits were speaking. Maybe it's a sort of ancient language in the Spirit World? Who knows?

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Haku sees something unusual. Turning his head back to Chihiro, to say he's stunned at what he sees is an understatement. Chihiro, lying limp and lifeless in his arms, is now glowing; a soft silvery colour emanating from her body. He can't move, only stare, waiting to see what will happen next.

~o~o~O~o~o~

I stand abruptly, staring at my hands. I remember _everything_. I remember the forest, the grey sky, the smog, the bulldozers and the petrified faces of my friends. 'So that's why everyone…' I think, remembering back to when I saw Hatori crying in the forest. It all makes sense now. But even so, was it all worth it? 'I'll never get to see anyone in the Spirit World again.' I look back to the playing children, trying to blink back the oncoming tears. 'Oh Haku, I'm so sorry. It's my entire fault that you can't keep your promise.'

Then, I notice something strange just out of reach of my peripheral vision. I look at my hands once again, and gasp. 'They're glowing? What's happening to me?' I take a deep breath to try and calm myself, and before I know it, my whole body starts to glow. From afar I must look like some sort of angel from Heaven, glowing silver like this. Not that anyone can see me, anyway.

My vision becomes blurry, and I feel dizzy. I sway and stumble, trying to keep myself balanced like a drunkard in the streets. Blackness clouds the edges of my vision, and then darkness surrounds me once again. The last thing I hear is a deep voice, booming throughout my ears.

"Chihiro Ogino, you shall be reborn."

And then, nothing.

~o~o~O~o~o~

I slowly blink open my bleary eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. The sun's light is blindingly bright, but bearable. I groan from the sudden pain that hits me. My entire body feels like it's on fire. I feel paralysed, I can't move a muscle. The pain is too much. And then, just as quickly as it came, the pain disappears. I try to focus my vision so I can gather my bearings. I feel a drop of some sort of liquid fall on my left cheek; like a raindrop, only warm. I look up and see those emerald eyes I've been longing to see, that have always somehow lingered in my mind, filled to the brim with tears.

"H-Haku?" I stutter, not believing my eyes. "Is that really you?"

He doesn't say anything, but instead embraces my body tightly; his right arm around my neck to support my right shoulder, and his left arm around my ribcage supporting my back. I can honestly say I'm surprised by this action, but hug him back just as tightly nonetheless.

I feel a little sticky, and the only thing I can smell is blood. 'This isn't exactly the way I had pictured our reunion to be, but this is good enough.' I smile slightly at the thought, just content to be in Haku's arms for the moment. A few warm tears slip out of my eyes, slowly running down my cheeks to drip off the tip of my chin.

"I never thought I'd see you again." My voice wavers slightly, full of emotion. Haku squeezes me tighter for a second, before loosening his grip completely. He offers me a watery smile and sniffles.

"I've missed you, Chihiro. So much." I can't help but smile at him. It's been so long. _Too_ long.

His nose and eyes are red, like he'd been crying for quite some time now. I then notice just how wet the right side of my shirt is, which is also stained red with my blood from where my wound was. But the shirt doesn't matter, nothing does. All that matters right now is that I'm alive and in Haku's arms.

Alive? Is that the right word to use? Because I was dead, I'm sure I was. I had definitely died. But now? What exactly does that make me? A zombie? Vampire? I guess that doesn't really matter right now, either.

"I don't understand… I thought I was dead…" I mumble into Haku's shoulder, not quite realising that I'm thinking aloud. We part, and he offers me a watery, somehow sombre smile.

"You were. I'm sorry Chihiro, I didn't make it in time to save you."

"But then, how am I alive now…?" I try to keep my tone calm, although my voice wavers slightly. Haku inhales a shaky breath.

"Somehow, you were brought back to life, reborn if you will." He gasps slightly, as if remembering something, and looks behind him. "… They're gone…" He murmurs. Haku turns his head back towards me once again. "Just a few moments ago, there were about twenty or thirty different spirits surrounding us, spirits of all kinds; they were all chanting. I couldn't understand what they were saying; it must have been some sort of ancient language in the Spirit World or something. I look back at you, and you're glowing; literally. Next thing I know, you're breathing again." He pauses for a moment, looking into my eyes intently. "I'm so glad you're alive. I don't know what I'd do without you…" He looks down into his lap, lost in thought it seems.

For a while, we just sit there. Even though we're both covered in my blood, neither of us want to move. Not right now, at least. But then again, we could always just go back to being in each other's arms after we both get cleaned up, couldn't we? There's something about the look in Haku's eyes that tells me that that might not happen. And then I remember something.

"Hatori!" Her name passes through my lips before I even have the chance to acknowledge what I'm saying. Haku, clearly surprised by my sudden outburst, snaps his head towards me once more.

"Who?" Is all he can manage to say.

"My friend, Hatori. She thinks I'm dead, I have to do something." I then notice just late into the afternoon it's getting. The sun will be setting soon, and Hatori will probably be on her way home right now. My eyes avert themselves from the sun's rays and look back at Haku. I look into his eyes, pleading silently. I have to tell her I'm okay.

"Alright."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Well, how about that? Chihiro's alive again! Hooray! But how's Hatori going to take the news? Not even I know that yet! Methinks I'd better get writing :) I hope you all like the extra-long chapter! It was really hard to write, believe it or not; I just couldn't get the words out.**

**I hope you like the early chapter, because I was getting tired of waiting to update! For me, this week's been going way too slow.**

**Also, starting next Tuesday I go back to school. Year 11! Wow, I can't believe how fast the years go by. Anyways, I'll try to keep updating every Friday like I usually do, but I have no idea how much homework I'll get. I do have a few more pre-written chapters, but somehow I feel I have a lot of editing to do.**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed the previous chapter. Those people are:**

**WhiteTiger246, shad0wd3ath, Heartz4Jesus, michelle88222, Nya sister of fire, Chihiro no Ryuu and Robert ;) (Guest)**

**Thanks guys!**


	6. Caught

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 6 – Caught**

"Haku?" I ask, finally ready to move on and get out of this place. Or, it might be the fact that my entire body feels like it's been dipped in honey. Either way, I still wouldn't mind having a nice long, hot shower.

"Yeah?" Haku mumbles into my hair. He moves back and looks into my eyes, silently telling me to continue, even though he's already spoken his thoughts. I can tell that we've both run out of tears, and we're both exhausted from the emotional reunion. The evidence of our emotions is probably clear on both of our faces, going by the tear streaks on Haku's cheeks, and I can plainly see that he's just as exhausted as I feel. But, before we head home, I have to do something. I need to rid myself of this pain that seeps into my mind.

"Before we get cleaned up, can we make a quick stop? I have to tell Hatori that I'm okay. Please?" I beg. I really hope he understands. I feel my eyes well up with tears once again, but I force them back down, not willing to let them flow. Haku's brows furrow slightly, he's clearly deep in thought. After a few moments, my hopes begin to falter when he doesn't do anything else but sit there, thinking. His eyes seem unfocused, looking elsewhere.

"Alright," Haku sighs. "But we need to be careful. After all, we both look like we've killed somebody." I smile at the irony in his words, but nod nonetheless. He slowly stands up, and then bends down, reaching his hand out to me. "Can you stand? Are you in pain?" At this I giggle a little, and take his outstretched hand.

"Haku, I'm fine. If I still had my injuries, I'm sure I'd be a little more than just 'in pain'. And besides, if I were in pain, I'm sure you would've known by now." Haku swiftly pulls me up on my feet, cocking his head slightly.

"You mean that your injuries are gone?"

"Yep. All gone."

"Not even a scar?" I find his curiosity to be incredibly cute, but his question suddenly peaks my interest. I hadn't even thought that there might be a scar where the presumably enormous gash used to be. Suddenly curious myself, I lift my T-shirt up so that the bottom of it reaches up to my collar bone. I hear Haku shift slightly, but choose to ignore it. My left hand studies the skin across my stomach, gently gliding over the smooth surface. It's hard to tell whether or not the gash left a scar, with my stomach being covered in blood. I feel over and around the area where the wound should have been, and found the texture to be no different, save for the thick layer of blood.

"Huh, not even a scar. Weird." I murmur. My left hand drops back to my side and my right pulls the bottom of my shirt back down, before retreating back to my other side as well. I look up at Haku, who's looking at the ground, shuffling a little awkwardly. I notice a light pink dusting his cheeks, and I can't help but smile. He's so cute.

"Isn't that weird, Haku?" I repeat. Still refusing to look at me, Haku quietly mumbles an answer.

"Yeah, weird…" There's a slight pause before he decides to speak again. "So, where do we find Hatori?"

"She lives in the same apartment building as I do. It's not too far from here, actually."

"Apartment building, huh? That brings back old memories…" He mumbles.

"What was that?" I say, not quite sure I'd heard right.

"Never mind." I shrug my shoulders, not bothering to press on the matter. We set off, heading towards the place that I could never have the heart to call 'home'.

~o~o~O~o~o~

About forty-five minutes of walking through the remains of the forest, we finally reach a path. Following the path, Haku and I eventually find civilisation. I find the ongoing silence a little unnerving. Though not because I feel awkward that neither of us are talking, – I find the silence between us somewhat comfortable – but because we should've heard _someone _by now. Yet, the silence still lingers and Haku and I are still walking along a concrete path side-by-side. I feel the urge to break the uneasy silence, to try and calm my jittery nerves, but I just can't think of anything to say. I turn my head towards Haku slightly, and he doesn't even seem to be bothered by the silence at all. In fact, he seems to be intrigued, in anything.

Then, a scream rips through the air, catching both our attention. I turn, searching for the owner of the shrill voice. A young girl, looking to be about the age of fifteen or so; she just stands there, looking petrified. Her whole body is shaking, and I can tell she's about to break. Her hands are covering her mouth, and judging by her muffled though audible sobs, she's definitely crying. I study her alarmed face again, and just know that she thinks we're criminals, and that she's probably going to be our next 'target'. The thought amuses me a little, though it probably shouldn't. 'If only she knew what really happened.' I think, smiling at the thought if how wrong she is. Haku on the other hand, doesn't seem quite as calm as I. I can understand, though, he's probably never been out in the streets of the Human World before.

"Hey!" I shout out to the girl, my hands cupping around my mouth for exaggeration. I notice that she flinches when I speak. "It's alright! We're not going to hurt you! We've been in an accident, just go on home!" I know, shouting at her like that is probably not the best idea that anyone could come up with, but honestly? I'm way too tired to care right now. The girl hesitates for a few moments, before running off in the opposite direction to us. My only hope now is that she doesn't call the police. Although, I think we could all agree that _that _would certainly be interesting.

"I can't believe you actually did that." I turn my body and my full attention to Haku.

"What do you mean?" He just smiles at me; a smile that makes my cheeks feel warm, and makes my legs feel like jelly.

"You're truly amazing, you know that?" I'm positive that if my cheeks weren't already stained red with my blood, Haku would definitely notice the heat that I feel is surely making my cheeks burn scarlet. 'Why do I feel like this all of a sudden?' I wonder. 'What's gotten into me?'

Feeling a little embarrassed by his statement, I suddenly find the ground far more interesting than it was not a few moments prior. Suddenly wanting to change the subject, I fake cough and turn back towards the way we were previously headed.

"So, uh, shall we keep moving then?" I suggest, waiting for a response from Haku. I hear him chuckle behind me, before replying.

"Sure."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Love it? Hate it? Review and tell me what you think! I promise you, **_**every single review **_**helps me write! It doesn't matter if it's only a short sentence, or a whole paragraph, I want to know what you think of my story!**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Shayleerobert (guest), KnuckleSmasher (guest), Heartz4Jesus, michelle88222, WhiteTiger246, Chihiro no Ryuu and Scarlet Ammo 19!**

**Thanks guys, see you next chapter!**


	7. Ghost

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 7 – Ghost**

"We're here." I say, walking up to a set of stairs at the front of the apartment building. Leading Haku up the stairs, my only thoughts consist of hoping that Hatori won't react negatively.

We silently reach the wooden door, and I begin to get anxious. Within the two years that I've known her, I could never bring myself to tell Hatori about the Spirit World, in fear of losing her; she's my only friend. Haku must've been able to feel my nervousness, as I suddenly feel a light pressure on my shoulders. His gentle hands slide down my arms slowly, and then back up; a comforting gesture. Then, I feel his warm breath on my left ear. My heart flutters.

"It's going to be okay, Chihiro. We'll get through this. I promise." He murmurs in my ear softly. I smile at his comforting words, thanking him silently, though he cannot see my face. Then, just as quickly as it came, his touch left me completely. I lean back slightly, needing to feel his touch once more. I don't know what's wrong with me all of a sudden; I've never felt like this before.

"Well, here goes nothing." I mumble, more to myself rather than Haku. I hesitate slightly, before knocking twice on the door.

We wait a few seconds, before it finally swings open, revealing a young woman with caramel blonde hair, and kind hazel eyes. Her face is streaked with tears, and her eyes and nose are red from crying. A wave of guilt rushes through my body. I shouldn't have left her like that.

"Chihiro?" She manages to squeak out.

"Yeah, it's me." For a while, we just stand there. Judging by the look on Hatori's face, I can only assume that she has no idea what to say. I hear Haku clear his throat behind me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but may we come in?" Hatori looks up at him in surprise; apparently she hadn't seen him standing behind me, despite his height. She nods her head, looking elsewhere, opening the door wider for us.

"Uh, yeah sure…" Haku and I follow her into her small living room. "Please, sit." I walk over to a small loveseat at the back of the room. I'm about to sit down, when I remember something.

"Oh, right. Uh, Hatori? Would you mind getting some towels or something to sit on," I point to my clothes. "Because we're both covered in my blood." Hatori turns to look at us, blinking.

"Oh my gosh, you are! Are you okay? I was just so shocked at seeing you, that I didn't notice all that blood!" I see her trying to blink back tears, and another wave of guilt hits me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." There's a short pause before she decides to speak up again.

"Oh, right. You need towels. I won't be a moment."

~o~o~O~o~o~

"So… You're alive?" Hatori inquires. She's sitting opposite us on a matching armchair, leaning over slightly. "I thought you were… You know, dead." I hear Haku shift a bit on the towel he was sitting on beside me on the loveseat. I let out a long sigh, furrowing my brows.

"I _was_ dead. But somehow, I came back to life. At least, not before being able to experience being a ghost." I look over at Haku, and his face clearly reads confusion. I turn my head back over to Hatori, and her eyes are widened, her mouth hanging open.

"A ghost?" I nod my head, carefully watching Haku out of the corner of my eye.

"At least, that's the only way I can describe it. One minute I'm in complete darkness, the next I wake up in the forest and I'm completely fine."

"Oh... What happened after that?"

"After that, I couldn't remember what happened, and I found you in another part of the forest along with everyone else, but…" I look down into my lap, where my hands are curled into fists. "You couldn't hear me. I ended up back at my parents' house, and I thought… I thought that maybe they could hear me. I knocked on the door, and when my mum answered, it was like she couldn't see me." Tears are threatening to flow down my cheeks, but I manage to hold them in. "She saw right through me. And… At that point, I didn't know what to do anymore. I broke down crying on the stairs." I can see my fists shaking in my lap. "After a while, I figured that crying wouldn't do me any good, so I decided to take a walk to try and figure out what was going on. I ended up in park, with all these little kids and their parents playing together. Then, this one boy, he… he started stomping on a little girl's sand castle yelling 'Die, die, die' over and over. That's when I remembered I had died, but I still couldn't remember how. I kept asking myself how this could happen, not wanting to believe it; I remembered everything after that." I pause, letting in a breath. "Then, I started glowing. I don't know why or how, but I was glowing a bright silver colour. After that, I started to feel really dizzy, and I heard a voice; a man's voice."

"What did he say?" Hatori questioned.

"He said, 'Chihiro Ogino, you shall be reborn', and then everything went black. Next thing I know, I wake up, and Haku's staring right back at me." I look back over to Haku, smiling a small smile. There's a long silence before anyone says anything. My best guess is that Hatori is still processing all of this.

"So… What does that make you now?" She asks, her brows furrowed slightly. Taken aback by the 'out of the blue' question, I look at Haku for an answer.

"Before she woke up, there were about twenty, maybe thirty people surrounding us; all chanting." I take note of him using the word 'people' instead of 'spirits'. "Then, as Chihiro said, she started glowing. My best guess would have to be that she's no longer human."

"What are you saying…?" My brows furrow. I would have never thought that I wasn't human anymore. Haku turns his full attention to me, looking me straight in the eye.

"Chihiro, I'm saying that you may be a spirit."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Sorry to end it here, but I thought it might be a good place to stop. Plus, my head hurts. This was a fairly easy chapter to write, but I'm not entirely happy with it. But anyways, as usual, review and tell me what you think of the chapter!**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, diety and WhiteTiger246!**

**Thanks guys!**


	8. Dragon

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 8 – Dragon**

My mouth hangs open, and my eyes are wide. A spirit? Me? Is that even possible? My thoughts are interrupted by Hatori's sudden burst of laughter. Confused by my friend's sudden outburst, I turn my attention to her.

"Hatori, what's gotten into you?" I wait for her fits of laughter to die down.

"You seriously don't believe you could be a spirit, right? I mean, a _spirit,_ Chihiro. Really? And anyway, you still haven't introduced this guy to me yet! Do _you_ even know him?" I guess she does have a point, but now I don't have much of a choice; I'm going to have to tell her about the Spirit World. I look over to Haku, silently asking for confirmation. He nods once, and I turn back to Hatori. I sigh, looking into my lap.

"Hatori, there's something I haven't told you." I look up at her, and her confused expression brings me to continue. "Do you know that story that I told you a while ago, about how I almost drowned in a river when I was five?" She nods slowly. I gesture towards Haku. "Well, Haku was the one who saved me. It was his river that I had fallen into." I take a deep breath. "Haku is the spirit of the Kohaku River. That's when we first met." I've started explaining now; I may as well tell her the whole story.

"I think I'll go and make some tea. It seems like this might take a while…" Hatori stands up and walks over to her small kitchen, swaying a little from side to side. The information probably only just clicked in her mind. A few minutes later, she comes back, and hands each of us a cup of warm Chai tea. "Sorry, but I don't have any teacups. We're going to have to drink out of mugs." I nod my thanks, taking a mug from her. Holding the mug in both of my hands, I begin to explain everything about my visit to the Spirit World.

"Well, five years after that, when we moved here, my dad took a wrong turn to our new house; we ended up in the Spirit World." I start explaining everything to Hatori, from meeting Haku on the bridge, to my parents turning into pigs and so on.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"And that was the last time that I saw him again, until now." I smile to myself, grateful that Haku kept his promise. I look out of the window at the opposite end of the room, staring at nothing in particular. It's been about three hours since I've started explaining what happened, and now it's almost twilight. Hatori had gone to turn the lights on not a few minutes ago.

"Wow…" Hatori sniffles. "So romantic, yet heartbreaking. It'd be a great love story for a book, you know." I look back at my friend, and see that she's tearing up.

"Love story?" I feel my cheeks warm at the thought. I look over at Haku, and he's just sitting there, staring mindlessly into his empty mug.

"You mean you don't see it?" She giggles, a little more to herself than anyone. "Okay Chihiro, whatever." Hatori pauses. "But Haku, you really haven't kept your promise until now?" He looks up then, a little surprised that she spoke to him, I guess.

"Yeah." Is all he says. I notice the look of guilt spreading across his handsome face, and my heart goes out to him. He then turns to me, searching my eyes for forgiveness. "…I'm so sorry Chihiro. I fully intended on keeping my promise all these years. It's just… I-"

"I know, Haku." I cut him off. "I had already assumed that you weren't able to get to me." A small smile graces my lips. "I forgave you long ago, there's no need to apologise now." Haku seems utterly speechless.

"Oh!" We both jump at Hatori's sudden outburst. "I just remembered. Chihiro, didn't you say that Haku's a dragon?" She places her empty mug onto the small coffee table in the middle of the room, standing up. I look up at her tall form, confused.

"Yeah, why?" A wide smile spreads across her lips, her hands placing themselves on her hips.

"Show me." My eyes widen.

"What?"

"Show me. If you want me to believe your story, then you have to prove that Haku can turn into a dragon." She looks expectantly down at Haku, who's looking back into his cup in thought. 'Crap.' I think. 'So that's why she didn't freak out about all of this. She still doesn't believe me. What are we going to do now?' After a few moments of silence, Haku places his mug on the coffee table, and stands up.

"Alright." He states calmly. My eyes widen.

"Are you sure Haku?" He nods his head.

"Yes. If you can trust her with your secret, then I can trust her with mine." He smiles gently at me. "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Haku looks back over to Hatori. "You may want to move back, I need a lot of space." He looks back at me. "You too, Chihiro." I nod, and remove myself from the towel, now covered in my blood also, and move over to the kitchen area with Hatori.

It all happened so fast, I wasn't sure if I even got to see the transformation. One minute Haku the man was standing in the middle of the small living room, and the next Haku the dragonwas standing in his place. I blink, making sure that I'm seeing right. His dragon form is even more beautiful than I remember. His pearlescent white scales shimmer and shine in the reflection of the ceiling lights, and his aqua green mane so soft to the sight, and those _eyes._ Oh, those _eyes._ Those unforgettable eyes so deep and beautiful and _green _they make me want to cry. My breath involuntarily catches in my throat.

"Oh my god! You really are a dragon!" Hatori exclaims, bringing me out of my thoughts. "This is so cool!" Her eyes are wide in amazement, and a large smile is easily spread across her lips. "I can't waitto tell the others about this!" My eyes widen.

"What? No, you can't tell everyone else! Please Hatori-" I'm interrupted by Hatori's snorting and giggling.

"Don't worry; I wasn't _actually _going to tell them. Geez Chi, you can be a real party pooper sometimes." I instantly relax, and Haku is back in human form again in no time. He swiftly makes his way over to my side.

"Others? What is she talking about, Chihiro?" He asks, and I sigh, turning to face him.

"The others," I start. "Are the other people in our protesting group. We try to save as many forests and rivers as possible."

"Oh. Chihiro, that's so thoughtful." He seems to be thinking about something. "Is that why I was able to get here through my river? Is that why it's clean now?" Again, I sigh.

"Actually, no." I pause. "I was able to get enough petitions to knock down the old apartment building that was built over your river. After that, for about two years, I saw to it that your river got well again. I've been cleaning it ever since." He seems shocked to hear this, in the least.

"You cleaned my river…?" I look into his eyes, and he mine. His emerald orbs fill with tears. "Why?"

"…Because I thought, that maybe you could get to the Human World through it somehow." I look down at my feet, not willing to meet his eyes; feeling a little ashamed of myself for cleaning his river for a selfish reason. I feel a familiar sensation prickling my eyes, and my nose starts to run. I try to sniffle as quietly as possible, at an attempt to not embarrass myself in front of my friends.

I'm unexpectedly enveloped in Haku's arms; one arm around my upper back, the other holding my head to his chest. This is all it takes to crush my resolve into millions of tiny pieces, only to float out into space and become twinkling stars in the sky. I break, and sob into Haku's chest, unable to hold in my tears any longer. I have no idea why my emotions are so uncontrollable all of a sudden. This thought alone only makes me more frustrated, and makes more tears flow down my cheeks like waterfalls.

Eventually my tear ducts run dry and just stand here, sniffling like an idiot. Haku loosens his grip on me slightly, just enough to look down at my tear-stained face. I can't help but stare into his emerald orbs in which I love so dearly. Then, a small, kind smile graces Haku's lips.

"Thank you so much, Chihiro."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Yay, another chapter finished! Again, this chapter was pretty easy to write, thankfully. Since it's Valentine's today, I thought I might as well update :)**

**Thanks to all those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, diety, WhiteTiger246 and Chihiro no Ryuu!**

**Happy Valentine's Day guys!**


	9. Image

**Unkind Mankind**

**A/N: Sorry not sorry**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 9 – Image**

I furrow my brows slightly, confused at his statement.

"For what?"

"For saving my river. I can't thank you enough for what you did." He releases me completely, and looks at the ground. "Without my river, my home, I'm as good as dead." My eyes widen a little, shocked to hear such a thing.

"I… I didn't know, Haku." I can't think of anything else to say; the words won't come to mind. I can only stand here, mouth open, staring wide-eyed at my dragon friend.

A small cough interrupts my blank mind, and we both turn to the sound. It seems I've forgotten all about Hatori, and now I feel guilty again. I just seem so… So rude today, I have no idea why.

"Hey Chi, it's getting kind of late." Hatori gestures out to the window, guiding my eyesight at the same time. She's right; it's getting pretty dark outside; about time for dinner. I snap back to attention, turning to Hatori.

"Yeah, I guess it is. Well, we'd better head on home." I head towards the front door of the apartment, Hatori and Haku following close behind. Haku opens the door, and waits for me to say goodbye. I turn again, opening up my arms to embrace my friend. Once in each other's embrace, Hatori quickly whispers in my ear.

"You're perfect for each other." She releases me, giggling to herself. I feel my cheeks heat up instantaneously, and Hatori smiles and waves at both of us as we walk onto the decking outside. "Don't forget to shower." I smile back, before leading Haku towards my apartment door just a few doors down.

"My apartment's just over here." I comment lightly, not bothering to look back at Haku to see if he'd heard me. We reach my door, and I feel around in the pockets of my jeans for my apartment keys.

"Shit." I mumble under my breath, still trying to find my keys. Haku must've heard me, as he gently taps me on the shoulder, gaining my attention.

"What's wrong? Did you misplace something?" I sigh.

"Yeah, I must've dropped my apartment keys somewhere." I laugh awkwardly, clearly embarrassed about the situation. "Looks like we're going to have to go back to Hatori's place." Haku only smiles and pulls my shoulder back gently, silently requesting that I stand back.

"That won't be necessary, because I," He moves closer to the door, bending his head down and closing his eyes. "Have magic to help us." He mutters a few foreign words under his breath, and then waves a hand over the door knob. Looking back at me with a satisfied grin present on his face, he grabs the handle, and opens the door with ease. I gasp, my eyes wide.

"That's so cool!" I look back at Haku's triumphant face. "I wish I could do cool stuff like that." He gestures for me to enter first, and I comply. He walks in after me, closing the door behind him.

"Do you mind if I have a shower first? That way I can cook dinner while you take your shower to save time."

"Sure, take all the time you need."

"Thanks Haku. I won't be too long, if all this blood comes off easily enough. Make yourself comfortable in the meantime." I walk down the hallway to my small bathroom, turning the handle and opening the door. It swings open slowly, revealing my clean, white bathroom. Everything is where I previously left it. I smile slightly, closing the door swiftly behind me as I walk in. I walk over to the other side of the room, and turn on the shower tap. I quickly unbutton my stained shirt, eager to have my much-needed shower.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"It's already been half an hour, what's she doing in there?" Haku had been patiently waiting for Chihiro to finish up, making himself comfortable on her small loveseat in the living room. Both curious and a little worried for his friend, he decided to go and ask her if she's alright. Reaching the bathroom door, he could still hear the shower running, though he couldn't hear anything else.

"Chihiro? Are you okay in there?" The young man had his hand positioned to knock on the wooden surface. Calling her name again, he knocks. "Chi-" As his hand came into collision with the door a second time, it gave way and creaked open; a little too quickly. Before Haku had any time to even comprehend what had just happened, the door had swung wide open – by itself, no less – revealing a small bathroom, and a dazed Chihiro standing naked in her shower.

Eyes wide and face burning scarlet, Haku gaped for a moment, before hastily fumbling with the door knob, closing the door once more. A hand reached up to cover his immensely blushing features, all the while trying to find a means of escape out of the situation.

Not knowing what to do, Haku merely moved beside the door and slowly slid down the wall, landing on the ground with a solid 'thump'. With his knees bent, he just stared down at his hands. To say he was at a loss would be a complete _understatement._ Now what was he going to do? Haku couldn't possibly rid his mind of the memory; it was impossible. And embarrassment wasn't his only problem; no, in fact that was the _least_ of his problems. Within the current moment, Haku could feel a gushing nosebleed coming on, and the continuous mental images of Chihiro weren't helping in the least. Although, he had to hand it to himself; at least he'd managed to hold it in up to this point, rather than at her open bathroom door.

But he shouldn't feel this way about a friend, right? Even if she was a girl- No, scratch that; even if she was a _woman._ Yes, that's right. Chihiro Ogino wasn't a child anymore, and quite frankly neither was Haku. But indeed, Haku had most definitely grown up to be a _man,_ and as a _man, _he was most certainly _fond _of this new _woman _Chihiro.

He involuntarily shivered at the thought. Furiously shaking his head, Haku cursed under his breath. Gripping the sides of his head tightly, he squinted his eyes shut, willing the thoughts and images away.

When he'd finally managed to temporarily stop _most _of his perverted images, more images came to mind. Although, these new images were of from when they were still in the forest, before all this other nonsense happened. At first when she'd lifted her shirt up, Haku had been shocked. Her stomach was covered in blood, to say the least. He eventually looked past that, and just watched her hand gliding along the smooth surface. Haku's eyes then lead themselves upwards, past Chihiro's bellybutton, and up to where her ribcage would be. But, his eyes didn't stop there, no, they kept wandering upwards; and wander upwards they did. And then he'd spotted something. Chihiro had lifted her shirt up a little _too _high; high enough that some of her bra was showing. Obviously Haku had spotted this, and gulped, looking away. He could've sworn that his face was the reddest it had ever been in that moment. Again, he tried shaking away his thoughts, but his mind refused to comply. Instead, a more clean and _naked _Chihiro stood in its place, literally. He groaned.

"Why can't I stop thinking about it?!" He had unknowingly let the words slip past his lips, evidently heavily hanging in the air surrounding the man.

"About what?" He snapped his head up towards his left, staring into the adorably confused face of Chihiro.

"N-nothing!" Haku spluttered.

"Oh… okay…" Blushing, she looked away from Haku's shocked scarlet face. "Ah, well, after I got out of the shower, I only then just realised that I forgot to get a new change of clothes…" Embarrassed, she laughed a little, rubbing the back of her neck. "So what are you doing on the floor, anyway?" She then adjusted the damp towel in which was hastily wrapped around her curvaceous body. Haku's eyes instinctively observed her porcelain skin carefully, noticing each and every sparkling bead of water slowly making its way downward as the effect of gravity commanded them so. He spots one droplet of water in particular, carefully trickling its way down Chihiro's throat. She swallows, making it fall slightly faster. Eventually the droplet makes its way down past her collar bone, before disappearing into the delicious depths of her cleavage beneath the flimsy towel. He then thought about what was hidden beneath the cursed material, which inevitably lead his mind wandering back to the image of her in the shower. The image was still clear in his mind; the hot, steamy water streaming down her flesh, how it had flowed with the curve of her breast, her long chestnut hair cascading down her body like a waterfall, ending somewhere around her waistline.

But the one thing he was most conflicted about was that he wasn't sure whether not being able to see her 'nether regions' was a good thing, or bad thing.

Haku swallowed thickly.

"Uh-"

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Chihiro had cut him off before he had the chance to possibly screw everything up and make it awkward between the two; sort of.

"W-what?" Chihiro knelt down then, a worried look spread across her face. She reached out to his face with one hand. With a finger, she gently wiped just under his nose, just barely grazing his upper lip. Haku supressed a shiver. She then brought her finger back, showing him what she meant.

Blood. He could clearly see blood on the tip of her finger. His eyes widened, gripping his nose tightly. Apparently, while he was off in his little perverted dreamland, he had unconsciously gotten a nosebleed.

"Uh…" He hastily wracked his brain for _anything _to say. '_Shit!_ What am I going to tell her?' Seeing that Haku wasn't moving or saying anything, Chihiro slowly crawled towards her friend, genuinely worried. This didn't help Haku. At all. With Chihiro down on all fours, he could get a little more than a clear view of her cleavage, despite his best efforts to look elsewhere. Hand still covering his nose, he attempted to crawl back, away from his mouth-wateringly taunting friend. But alas, Chihiro was as clueless as ever, still crawling towards her friend.

"Haku, what are you doing? Why won't you just tell me what happened?" But this only made Haku scuttle away faster; well, as fast as he could whilst only using one hand.

Then and there, he hit a wall. Panicking, he could do nothing but watch his friend slowly and _saucily_ make her way over to him. Chihiro stopped, sitting between his legs. She leant forward, placing each hand either side of his waist. Haku could only stare wide-eyed at her, unable to move any further.

"Now, " She started. "What happened? Did you hit your nose on something?" Haku could not honestly believe how dense this girl was; although, he had to silently thank her for it.

"Uh n-no," He stuttered. "It's… it's not that…" He mumbled, hoping she would give up already.

"Then wha-" Her eyes widened slightly, and then she looked down at herself, then back up to his face again, flustered. "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know that uhm…" She quickly scrambled off of him, standing up and backing away. "I uh, I didn't mean to... Um, sorry!" Chihiro fled into one of the rooms within the hallway, slamming the door shut behind her.

Haku groaned. How was he supposed to tell her what he saw? No, he couldn't possibly do that. He stood up, and slowly made his way towards Chihiro's bathroom; after all that, he needed a _really _cold shower.

~o~o~O~o~o~

I slowly slide downwards, my back pressing heavily against the wooden door. 'What's gotten into me? Why did I run like that?' I tell myself. 'Haku's a _man _now, Chihiro! Of course things like that will happen! But,' I think, furrowing my brows. 'Why on earth would he be turned on by _me?_ I mean, we're just friends, right?' A hand comes up to my chest, gently resting over my heart. 'My heart's still beating so fast… What if… What if he thinks we're more than friends?' I feel heat spread across my cheekbones. 'Don't be stupid, Chihiro! We only just met each other again after _eleven years! …_Besides,' My lip quivers, and tears are threatening to spill. 'What if he's got a girlfriend? Or what if he's married?' I try to shake the thoughts away, sniffling.

"Haku," I whisper, my voice wavering slightly. "What am I to you?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Wow, that was sure a long chapter! Almost twice as long as the others! It was kind of really hard to write though, for some reason. I don't know though, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter either. I hope this chapter wasn't too long!**

**Also to those whom may think that Haku was being extremely perverted in this chapter; I apologise, but like I stated in the story, he **_**is **_**a man. And being a man, well, he's bound to have **_**some **_**perverted thoughts in his life. He's allowed to, is he not?**

**Also I kind of forgot to edit this chapter so if there's any mistakes, let me know :)**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, michelle88222, WhiteTiger246 diety and buttercupnbutch4ever!**


	10. Perverted

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 10 – Perverted**

It's trivial. I know that I shouldn't think these things, and I know that I'm just being negative, but I'm afraid to lose him. He was my first friend, and even though we haven't seen each other in eleven years, the fact that he's my friend still hasn't changed.

Change. Everybody comes across it at some point in their lives, no matter how big or small the change may be. Tradition changes, technology changes, and people change. Whether it is height or hairstyle, everyone changes in some way; even me, Chihiro Ogino.

I can certainly say that I've changed over the years; I've gotten taller, my hair's longer, and I have breasts now. But, I think the part of me that's changed the most is my personality.

I can proudly say that I am no longer the whiny, bossy, stubborn, lazy kid that I used to be. To think all that is thanks to my friends in the Spirit World; it's amazing. And Haku, he's the one who helped me the most; I mean, he's saved my life – twice – and without him, I would've surely been turned into bacon long ago.

Ah yes, Haku. He's changed quite a bit, too. He's so tall now; about a head taller than me. He's more muscular and lithe now, and his voice is deeper, but still so smooth. As for personality, though, he hasn't changed at all. No, he's still very much the kind, strong-hearted dragon boy that I'd met years ago. And for this, I'm glad.

But what does it all _mean?_ Nowadays I can't so much as even _look_ at him without getting butterflies in my stomach, and every time he smiles it feels like I could just melt into a puddle of pure bliss. I've started getting these strange feelings lately; ones I've never had before. All these thoughts roaming throughout my mind is making me confused; and I'm afraid. I'm afraid that he'll leave me behind, afraid that he'll leave me alone; afraid that he won't choose me.

I slowly open my eyes, blinking back tears. That he won't choose me? What was that supposed to mean? I shake my thoughts away, saving them to ponder on another time. I stand up, and realise that I'm still wearing nothing but a towel. I change into a pair of black jeans and slip on a purple tank top. It may not be the most fashionable and fancy thing to wear, but at least it's not covered in blood. I move over to the vanity in the back of my room, finding a hairbrush to untangle my knotty locks.

Once my hair is tangle-free, I slip out of the room and head towards the kitchen to make some dinner. As I walk past my bathroom door, I hear the shower running, and I feel my cheeks heat up almost instantly. 'I wonder what he's thinking…'

I open up the fridge door, and frown at what's inside.

"Looks like I forgot to go shopping. Again." I mutter. I sigh and move to the pantry to get some rice.

~o~o~O~o~o~

I study my dining table – set for two, of course – and smile at my efforts. Hearing the bathroom door opening, I turn to find Haku, clad in nothing but a towel.

I can do nothing but stare at the sight. I feel my cheeks burning; my eyes are wide, and my mouth agape. My face is aflame, and for some strange reason, I can't seem to take my eyes off of him. I think he says something, but I can't hear anything; I can only hear my thundering heartbeat inside my chest. I can't help but ogle over his gloriously soaked body, watching intently as the cold beads of water slowly roll down his toned abdomen. My eyes let themselves wander downwards, past his pectorals, down to his deliciously sculpted stomach. These devilish grey orbs of mine don't stop at his yummy abs, however, and keep stubbornly making their way downwards still. Following the streams of water yet again, I eventually reach Haku's hips, and find that he had put on the damp towel hastily, and very _low _on his body, at that.

I swallow thickly. Attempting to steady my unknowingly shaky breath, I continue my 'examination'. I spot the evident 'V' shape between his hips, which of course means that that would eventually lead my naughty eyes down towards his–

"U-Uh…" I sputter, immediately looking away after catching myself gawking at my dragon friend. That's right, he's my _friend._ What the hell am I doing ogling over him like this? What's gotten into me? "Um…"

"Chihiro? Are you okay? Your face is all red…" His face reads that he's genuinely worried about me, which in turn makes me feel extremely guilty all of a sudden. Haku approaches me slowly, as if to not scare me, hoisting up the damp towel slightly.

_My towel._

'Stop it, Chihiro! What the hell's wrong with you?!' That's right; I mustn't think such perverted things as this. It's not _my _towel, he would've used one of the spare one's I always leave in the bathroom… Right?

But even so, I still own _that towel_; and to think it's currently wrapped around his _naked body_ like that…

I involuntarily shiver, suddenly feeling _very hot._

I hadn't realised that Haku had walked across the hallway, and is now standing about a foot away from me. I snap my head up to his confused features.

'Don't look at me like that…' His gaze is so intense, but yet so soft. My cheeks burn and a pang of guilt hits me; he's genuinely worried about me, seeing me in such a state. My face must be so red, Haku probably thinks I'm sick or something. And what was I doing? I had been practically _drooling _over him! An expression so soft I feel weak in the knees, and a hand comes up to cup my cheek with a touch so gentle I could break down and cry at any given moment. Another pang of guilt.

'Please… don't look at me with those eyes…' My lip trembles, the emotions already prickling at the corners of my guilt-ridden eyes. 'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…' I turn away from his warm body, unwilling to meet his eyes any longer.

"Chihiro?" I take a few deep breaths to calm myself. He absolutely can't find out this new perverted side of me, and I certainly won't let my guilt get the best of me. "Did you hear what I said…?"

Turning back around, I smile gently up at his handsome face. "Sorry, I must've spaced out or something…"I laugh nervously, rubbing the back of my neck. Haku just chuckles slightly, placing his hands on his hips.

"I _said, _that since I have blood all over my clothes, I don't have anything to wear anymore." He quirks an eyebrow, and my cheeks start to feel a little warm again.

"Oh… Oh, sorry about that!" I say, fighting back the blush I feel trying to spread across my face. Again chuckling, a small bemused smile crosses his features.

"Would it be alright if we found something _other _than this towel for me to wear?" Smiling back, I feel both mentally and physically relieved that the awkward situation has finally passed.

"Let's find you something to wear then, shall we?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Wow, that was surprisingly difficult to write! Or maybe I just have writer's block…? Either way, I'm glad this chapter's **_**finally **_**finished after about two weeks of only having about 500 or so words. Sorry that it's shorter, but if I were to take some out of chapter 9 then this chapter would be longer.**

***IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ***

**My computer's saying that all of my fic files are corrupted, which obviously isn't good. My school laptop (the one I use to write/store my fanfiction) is currently being repaired, so I backed everything up to this chapter. But like I said before, apparently all the files are corrupted or something. Luckily I had previously given a copy of this chapter to Heartz4Jesus, which means that I thankfully don't have to rewrite this chapter. Although because everything is lame and hates me, I'm probably going to have to rewrite chapter 11 :( *sigh* So yeah, that's why this chapter's a little late in being put up. Also, for some reason I can't access my emails, I'm not sure what's going on there either. Sorry for the inconvenience, guys.**

**But yeah, as usual, tell me what you thought about this chapter!**

**Thanks to those awesome people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Ialiceiamagodness, Heartz4Jesus, diety, WhiteTiger246, buttercupnbutch4ever, Chihiro no Ryuu and chaostheory1989!**

**And because this is the tenth chapter, I thought it might be nice to thank everyone who favourited and followed me and my fanfiction!**

**Thanks to ****talicinx****, ****shad0wd3ath****, ****ralucix****, ****michelle88222****, ****manganime fangirl23****, ****darkstar2010****, **** .731****, ****chaostheory1989****, ****The Beast in Repose****, ****Raphs No.1 Girl****, ****Lexi4545****, ****KagomeGirl021****, ****IndianaJolee****, ****Heartz4Jesus****, ****Chihiro no Ryuu**** and ****Baby Peach**** for following!**

**Thanks to ****ralucix****, diety, darkstar2010, The Beast in Repose, Meep99, Lexi4545, IndianaJolee, Cheerhappy998 and Avasinclair123 for favouriting!**

**I'm not sure if I'll be able to update next Friday like usual, but let's see what happens :)**


	11. Akira

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 11 – Akira**

"This one won't do, either…" With a frustrated sigh, I toss aside another piece of clothing. Rummaging through my drawers once more, I desperately search for something for my friend to wear. Pulling out another item of clothing, the material unfolds itself to reveal a simple black pencil skirt. I only ever wore this skirt for job interviews and other formal events. I sigh once more, an exasperated tone in my voice. "You wouldn't happen to want to wear a skirt, would you?" I hear Haku chuckling beside me. I turn towards him, and give him a small side smile, quirking my brow slightly to show that I feel bad for him to be in this kind of situation.

"I don't think so," He smiles back. "And besides, I don't think I have the legs for it." A few unexpected, loud snorts escape me without permission, resulting in me covering my mouth and nose with my hands to pathetically attempt to hold back more embarrassing noises. My method of ceasing the noise, however, fails miserably. I can't help but let the loud bubbles of laughter come out of my chest, to then release themselves into the room. I figure that I probably won't be able to stop laughing at this point, and so I just let everything out. I hear Haku laughing beside me, and I'm surprised to say the least. I've never heard him laugh so genuinely before; maybe a slight chuckle, but never such a hearty laugh like this. The thought warms my heart considerably.

The sounds flitter and float about the room, bouncing off the walls in a big ball of energy. Figuratively speaking, of course. But, like everything else in this world, the laughter eventually dies and the only sounds left are the two of us heavily panting. Clutching my stomach – which now has a quite unpleasantly large stitch in the side of it – whilst on the floor, I look over to Haku beside me, and see that he is doing the same. He looks my way, a gentle smile painted across his features.

"You're really cute when you laugh, you know." My eyes widen a little, and I shake my head furiously.

"I'm not cute, and I hate my laugh…" Hearing Haku chuckle, I feel my cheeks warming considerably. I look away, embarrassed that he'd even say such a thing.

"But you are." I let out a shriek, surprised at the sudden feeling of Haku's warm breath on the shell of my ear.

"I-I'm going to go find some pants for you to wear…" I stammer. I make a dash for the exit, quickly turning the handle and throwing myself out of the room. Slamming the door shut behind me, I lean against the solid surface for a few moments, trying to calm my rapid heartbeat. 'What's happening to me? Why did I run?' I quickly shake away my thoughts, deciding on my next objective. Pants. Haku needs pants. But where could I get some from? I can't possibly go to the store now; they would've closed up by now. I think about visiting my parents to ask dad for some pants, but immediately discard the thought. First of all, they'd obviously want to know exactly why I'd need pants – men's pants, no less – at this time of night. Second, my father probably wouldn't even have small enough pants to fit Haku's body. And finally, I don't think I'd be able to face them anyways, not after all that had happened today. I hadn't spoken to them for two years, what would happen if I'd suddenly turned up out of the blue asking for a pair of pants? That would only lead me back to my first point.

I sigh, pushing myself off of the door, and make my way over to the exit. Standing in the space between the kitchen and living room, I ponder over my thoughts. 'What about one of my guy neighbours? …No way. Too awkward. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. For a moment I just breathe, the cool air filling my nostrils as silence envelops my mind. 'Think, Chihiro. Who's a male companion, somebody that won't make things awkward when you ask him for a pair of pants?' Nothing comes to mind. My eyebrows furrow slightly discovering this fact. 'There has to be _someone _that I know like that.' And finally it clicks. I release a breath and my eyes open once more, a small smile gracing my lips as a way to show my triumph. 'Hatori! Her boyfriend is still living with her, isn't he? What was his name again…?' I make my way over to the front exit, and spot the dining table set for two on my way. I pause in my tracks, before turning back to the hallway, where I know Haku is still residing within my bedroom.

"Haku, I'm going out to get you some pants! Dinner's on the table, so you can go ahead and eat without me while I'm gone!" I set off toward the door once more, yet again pondering over my thoughts. 'What was his name? I just can't remember…' I open the door, and close it gently behind me as I exit my apartment. I walk over to the railing of the edge of the deck, leaning on the cool metal slightly. Feeling a calmness wash over me, I stare out at the night sky, taking in its natural beauty. My gaze flows from star to star, watching in admiration as each star twinkles and shines up in the heavens. It's amazing when you think about it; how a star is just a ball of gas in space. And eventually, that ball of gas will die and create a new star to take its place.

"Akira!" The word escapes my lips before I realise, and I quickly clamp my hands over my mouth whilst looking around to see if anyone had heard me. Seeing that no one's around, I sigh in relief, before finally heading towards Hatori's apartment. My hand glides along the smooth, cool metal of the railing, and I hear the subtle slapping of my bare feet against the wood of the decking. I smile slightly, showing my triumph of finally remembering the name of the guy I'm about to ask for some pants from.

I knock thrice on the door to Hatori's apartment, and wait for a few seconds, before hearing the quiet shuffling of feet. Hatori opens the door, and her face lights up after seeing my face.

"Chihiro! You're back!" She looks around me, searching for something. "Where's Haku? Isn't he with you anymore?" Her quizzical expression brings me to smile a little.

"No, he's still in my apartment, it's just that…" I pause a moment, wracking my brain for the right words to say. "We managed to clean ourselves up, and the blood is all gone now, but…" I look away, scratching my neck. I feel my cheeks warm considerably, both from embarrassment and feeling quite senseless for having to ask such a question. "Haku needs some pants to wear." I let out a breath of relief, for finally being able to say it. Looking back at my friend, she quirks her brow in question.

"And what do you want _me _to do about it?" She queries. A sigh escapes my lips; I'm going to need to spell it out for her.

"Akira – your boyfriend – he's still living with you, isn't he?" I watch as her face morphs from confusion to understanding, and then she laughs a little.

"_Right_!I keep forgetting about that!" Hatori exclaims. "Sure! Come on in, I'll ask him." She opens the door wider for me to enter, and I follow her into the small apartment for the second time this afternoon. We make our way into the living room, and I spot Akira laying casually on the small loveseat that Haku and I were sitting on earlier. He looks up at us, and smiles.

"Ah, Chihiro was it?" I nod. "What brings you to my humble-"

"_Our._" Hatori interrupts. Akira waves his hand.

"Right, right. _Our _humble abode. What's up?" In all honesty, I don't particularly like this guy and his casualty. We've only met once before, if I remember correctly. He's rude on occasion with a stubborn attitude and stubborn temper to match. But, Hatori is supposedly hopelessly in love with the guy, so I guess it can't be helped. Right? I open my mouth to reply, but Hatori cuts in before I can speak a single syllable.

"You know that friend of Chihiro's I was talking about earlier?" Akira's dirty blonde head flicks in her direction, his obscure auburn eyes rising to meet hers.

"Oh, yeah. What about him?" And suddenly, dread fills my body. At first I'm not exactly sure why, but I know it has something to do with this conversation. Then it hits me. Hatori told Akira about Haku. Haku the _spirit, _whom can turn into a _dragon._ Panic fills me, and I turn to my friend.

"What?" I ask, silently hoping that wasn't what she had meant. "How much did you tell him?" My lip trembles slightly, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

"Everything."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Okay, so I've decided that instead of making this chapter really huge, I'm just going to update two or three chapters tomorrow. I hope that's okay :) Thanks to everybody for being so patient and waiting for a whole **_**four weeks**_** for me to update! It was mostly due to my laziness, but I **_**did **_**have to rewrite this chapter two times over. It also didn't help that I had writer's block most of the time. But I'm back from my lazy hiatus and I **_**should **_**be updating regularly again. So, hooray!**

**Thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**HunnyBunny12, Chihiro no Ryuu, WhiteTiger246, michelle88222, diety and ****Jikarashino Haruko!**

**Jikarashino Haruko: I tried to find you and PM you to say thanks, but it wouldn't show up :l I just wanted to say that your review really motivated me to rewrite this chapter again (another corrupted file somehow) and keep going :) Thanks for the awesome review!**

**Keep an eye out for more chapters this week!**


	12. Pants

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 12 – Pants**

Everything? My hope dissolves into nothingness and my faith in my friend has been crushed into a million pieces. One wouldn't think that such a simple word could do such a thing to a person, but unfortunately for me, it can. I can already feel the salty tears working their way up to my tear ducts, but before the dam walls in my eyes have a chance at overflowing, Hatori speaks up again.

"I did tell you everything, didn't I Akira?" Without moving my head, my eyes shift to look back at Akira.

"Yup, right from when that Haku guy found Chihiro and that deer in the forest to him staying at her place." His dark eyes flick up to meet mine, and it gives me a bad taste in my mouth. He spoke like I wasn't even in the room. I don't like it.

But, the fact that he didn't mention _anything _about my companion being a spirit or dragon, well, I'm not exactly sure to be honest. And he mentioned something about a deer? What's up with that? Though the confusion I feel must be clearly written on my features, as Hatori decides to speak up once again.

"Yup! And now all of their clothes are all bloodied up, which brings us to why you're here now, right?" Apparently I was way off. Hatori hadn't even been looking at my confused face. But she did, however, wink at me mid-sentence. Something clicks in my brain and I can't thank the heavens enough for what my friend is doing for me. I look at the expectant gaze Hatori offers me, and I comply to answer.

"Erm, right. Haku needs a pair of pants to wear, since his other pair is covered in blood. Would it be okay if he borrowed some of yours?" Looking back at Akira, he seems to be mulling over something.

"Sure." He gets up from the loveseat, and heads down the small hallway, mumbling something about old jeans.

A few minutes later, he comes back with a folded pair of jeans in one arm, and his other hand stuffed into the pocket of his pants. Akira hands the folded material to me, and I quietly thank him, stepping back a little, wanting to get as far away from the man as possible.

"I should uh, get back to my friend now. He's probably waiting for me." Noticing my awkwardness, Hatori grabs my arm and pulls me along with her towards the door.

"Exactly! You shouldn't keep him waiting too long, Chi! Who knows if he'll have a temper when you get back for making him wait too long?" Before I know it, I'm outside again, and Hatori is standing a foot away from me, the door closed behind her. "Sorry about that. I know how uncomfortable you can get around him." I sigh, looking up into the hazel eyes of my companion.

"Thank you. And thanks again for the jeans; I really appreciate that you'd help me. Somehow it's kind of awkward to ask for something as simple as this."

"But Chi," She nudges me on the elbow. "What's Haku wearing right now if he hasn't got anything to wear?" Feeling my cheeks heat up immensely, I cough a little, hoping she wouldn't notice the sudden redness of my face.

"A towel…" I mumble. Apparently Hatori still heard me, nonetheless.

"In that case, are you sure you want to give him some pants? He's quite the catch, you know." I look up at her, and she winks at me again. I open my mouth to retort, but Hatori beats me to it. "Don't you try to deny it! He is _hot _and you know it! You're so lucky to have someone like him as a friend. I'm jealous of you, you know." Every sentence Hatori utters, I feel my cheeks burn even more. "I betcha he's got abs." I can see she's trying to look thoughtful, but I know better than that; she's only trying to embarrass me further. And by god, it's working. I look at the decking, an attempt to ignore her teasing. Obviously, though, it doesn't work at all. "But of course, I wouldn't know, would I? I'm sure you would, though. Tell me, Chi," Hatori grips my shoulders tightly, forcing me to look at her once more, and see that she's now only inches from my own face. "Does he?" The question throws me off, and I have no idea how I'm supposed to respond to such interrogations.

"He um…" I try to look elsewhere, and somehow I feel my cheeks are burning more than ever. Images of my shirtless male companion flash by in my mind. "Maybe…"

"I'll take _that _as a yes." Hatori giggles. "You're lucky to have someone like him, you know. And besides," She smiles knowingly. "You two would make a great couple. You're perfect for each other, if I do say so myself."

"But we're just friends, and we haven't seen each other in eleven years." I furrow my brows.

"_Exactly. _It sounds like something from a romance novel." Hatori moves back slightly, clasping her hands together and sighing. No doubt she's having some sort of weird, mushy fantasy about Haku and I.

"Sounds more like something straight out of a tragedy." I add. "Haku's a spirit, and I'm a human-"

"Not anymore!" Pointing an accusing finger towards me, I watch as a wide smirk grows on my friend's face. "Remember what Haku said; you're a spirit now." I sigh.

"That may be true, but even so, we're just friends. Haku wouldn't think of me like that."

"The look on your face says otherwise." My eyes widen, remembering back to less than an hour ago, when I had obliviously given him a nosebleed. I feel my cheeks heat up once again from recalling the embarrassing and awkward memory. Needing to say something, _anything_, I finally find my retort. "But, you don't even know if I like him!" Lame as it was, at least I tried.

"Once again, it's written all over your face. You don't need to spell it out for me." Hatori gives me a soft, comforting and encouraging smile. "Go after Haku, you deserve him after all you've been through. You _deserve _a happy ending." For a while I'm speechless; I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to her. I can only stare at her gently smiling face whilst my mouth opens and closes, making me look similar to that of a fish.

For a while we just stand here on the deck outside of Hatori's apartment, not saying a word. The silence is a comfortable one, in a way. We both move to the railings, looking out at the night sky.

"Thank you." Is all I can manage to think of.

"What for? For saying you deserve happiness?"

"No, no. Not that. For not telling Akira about Haku being a spirit, or the Spirit World for that matter. I don't know what it took for you to lie to him, but I really appreciate it. Thank you." I hear Hatori chuckle beside me.

"I knew that you wouldn't want me telling the world about dragons and spirits, Chi. I'm not so thoughtless as to not consider your feelings, or your sanity for that matter." I laugh lightly. "Don't mention it, it was nothing."

"But what was all that stuff about a deer?" I furrow my brows.

"I had to come up with _something _as to explain why you were both soaked in blood. I told him that you'd found a wounded doe in the forest and tried to save it. Haku found you and tried to help, but it was no use."

"How depressing." We both laugh a little at the statement. "Thank you though, really. I don't know how I can repay you."

"No need. Besides, what else are friends for?" I turn to look at her then, really appreciating what a great friend I have. "Now," She states. "You best not keep that dragon waiting any longer; I hear they can have quite the temper." We hug each other tightly, before we each head off back to our apartments. A small smile graces my lips, remembering the conversation Hatori and I just had.

Things are going to get interesting from here onwards.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: *cracks knuckles* Ah, I'm so proud of myself! That only took a day to write! *self-five* I'll be working on chapters 13 and 14 tomorrow, and then I'm going to be updating weekly again, I think. It's way too stressful having to pressure myself to write as much as possible when I have school and musical rehearsals, and today I was even asked by the school music teacher to join the school band! I don't know if I should, though. I haven't played clarinet in about four years, and I only brought mine today for fun. So yeah.**

**Feed me your thoughts about this chapter, whether I should join the school band or not, how much you hate maths, or anything! I need your reviews to live!**

**Once again, thanks to those wonderful people who reviewed chapter 11! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, Ryu no Kokoro, Ialiceiamgodness, WhiteTiger246, PianoPanda12 and diety! Thanks guys!**

**Thanks to PianoPanda12 for following my story, and I welcome you to my wonderful fanficiton family!**

**Also, if I didn't send you a PM reply to your awesome review, I apologise. For some reason not all reviews are going to my emails, so I had to refer to FF. net to get the names.**

**That's all for now, I'll update again on Saturday (Australian time) at the very latest.**


	13. Tragedy

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 13 – Tragedy**

They all die.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Haha sorry about that, but I really hate the number thirteen (you know, superstitions and all that jazz), so this will basically act as a 'mock chapter'. No need to review and talk about how disappointed you are, I'll be putting up chapter fourteen shortly.**

**In the meantime, to replace what should have been a proper chapter, here's something that my older brother came up with (it's basically all crack).**

One day, Chihiro was walking to the shops to buy her sweetie, Haku, some candies. But along the way, she sensed a strange feeling and said "My Spidey sense is tingling!" Suddenly, a strange, dark figure approached her from behind. She slowly turned around and was stunned at the sight of the one and only, Slenderman. This figure usually has no facial features, but today… HE WENT SHOPPING!

"Hello there child, I am so glad to finally have a face" Slendy said.

His voice sounded like a mixture between Morgan Freeman and Liam Neeson; very soothing, yet quite disturbing. However the next phrase he blurted out, Chihiro couldn't make out a single coherent word.

"Are you… are you supposed to be… Batman?" Chihiro queried.

"Nope. Chuck Testa!" Slendy exclaimed.

"Okay… this is getting too out of hand now. I got to go… Uh, bye." Chihiro replied.

Chihiro started off without looking behind her to check if the creep was following or not. Oh but he was. DUN DUN DUHHH!

TEN MINS L8R

While on her way back home, Chihiro approached a forest as day turned into night. The sun was quickly setting. Chihiro started getting worried. Suddenly she heard a recognisable sound out in the distance. Then it stopped. She swiftly turned around to see what it was. It was Slenderman. But this time, he was holding his hands out. Chihiro peeked down at Slendy's hands, it was gold!

"No Face?" Chihiro asked.

"Uh, uh."

**A/N: Chapter fourteen should be up by now, so just refresh the page and it should come up :)**

**Thanks to all those awesome people who reviewed chapter 12! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, Ialiceiamagodness, Ryu no Kokoro, diety, WhiteTiger246 and adriana. purple. 1!**


	14. Onigiri

**Unkind Mankind**

**A/N: You're going to love this one ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 14 – Onigiri**

I open the door to my apartment with the folded jeans still draped over my forearm. I open my mouth to yell out that I'm back, but decide against it; though it's probably unlikely, Haku might be sleeping. Closing the door behind me as quietly as possible, I look around the kitchen area. I notice that both plates of food on the dining table are untouched, still set up the way I had so carefully arranged it. All the lights have been turned off, too. I scan the living room, and see Haku asleep on my loveseat.

Approaching the river spirit carefully, I examine his sleeping features. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep; there's no furrow in his eyebrows, the slight rosy tint to his cheekbones, and his oh so soft pink lips, parting ever so slightly. I feel my own lips parting a little too, wanting to be closer to the dragon.

Kneeling in front of my male companion, I merely sit in place, unsure of what to do next. A few strands of hair fall into his handsome features, and I move my hand to gently push them behind his ear. I move closer and closer still, placing my hand on his firm chest, feeling the thumping of his steady heartbeat. I feel my own heart rate pick up, wanting to feel Haku's soft lips against mine. My other hand goes to push back my own hair, and my eyes flutter closed; our lips almost touching.

"What are you doing?" I let out a surprised shriek, and fall backwards onto the wooden flooring, pulling Haku down with me.

His hands are either side of my head, supporting his weight. I can tell that he's just as surprised as I am from the fall, before his face morphs into an amused expression. My breath catches in my throat, and I can't move a muscle. I'm trapped, and in a very suggestive position, at that. It feels like my heart is racing a million miles per hour, like it's going to explode from inside my chest. I can only stare wide-eyed at him.

"I said," He states, his smirk growing wider. "What are you doing? I think it to be polite to give me an answer."

"I… uh…" I can't utter a single word; my mind is a jumbled, incoherent mess.

"It would seem as though you were about to _kiss_ me, but do correct me if I'm wrong." I feel my cheeks burning, and Haku moves his face closer to mine. "But my _dearest friend _wouldn't do that to _me_. You wouldn't take _advantage_ of me like that, would you, Chi-hi-ro?" I involuntarily shiver at his words, feeling my cheeks burning intensely from the close proximity.

"I-I thought y-you were asleep…" I stutter.

"My point exactly. How would you like it if somebody came along and just, _took advantage of you?_" I notice a glint of mischief in his emerald orbs, before they close shut. He swoops in much closer, our lips only inches apart. I'm frozen, I can't move. I can't turn away, or even close my eyes.

Then, I feel something drop onto my legs. It's hard to tell what it is through my jeans, but the object is light and… Flexible is the only word my mind conjures up to describe the object.

I furrow my brows, and look up at Haku's face. It's hard to tell in the dim lighting, but I'm certain that his face reads as, well, shocked. His eyes are wide open and his mouth agape, and his cheeks are a very comical shade of scarlet. This image brings me to think only one thought.

The towel that Haku had been wearing has fallen off. And of all possible reactions I could have, I laugh. It starts off as a quiet giggle, but then it bursts into a hearty laughter.

Haku on the other hand, doesn't seem so impressed; which in turn only makes me laugh harder. Tears form at the corners of my eyes from laughing so hard, and my cheeks start to hurt a little from smiling so much. Eventually my laughter dies down, and I'm sure that my cheeks must be red.

"Would you like some pants?" I ask, quirking a brow. Haku seems to snap out of his shocked state, looking me in the eye, still blushing.

"P-please." He stammers. I giggle, and reach over to where the pair of jeans were flung when we fell. Thankfully, they didn't fly too far away as to make this awkward situation more awkward. Grabbing the now messily splayed-across-the-floor material, I hand it over to Haku. "Thanks…" He clears his throat. "Uh, do you mind if you, uh…"

"Sure." Getting his hint, I look away, towards the loveseat; I can feel a blush rising up my face. I feel him moving to get up, and then some ruffling of material.

"Okay." Turning my head again, I stand up, facing my dragon companion. "Here's your towel back." An awkward silence spread between the two of us, flittering and floating about in the room; I can even feel the daggers of tension in the room. "Ah, thank you. I appreciate you getting me some pants to wear." I feel my cheeks warm at his statement.

"It was nothing." I pause. "You hungry? I made dinner."

Haku smiles and nods, a blush still evident on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. I smile back, secretly storing the adorable image in the back of my mind.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"This brings me back." Haku says, picking up a rice ball.

"Yeah, me too." I reply, picking up a rice ball from my own plate. "Sorry, I forgot to buy groceries again. This is going to have to do for dinner." I say a little sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it." He smiles, and takes a bite out of the onigiri. "This kind of reminds me of the time that I-"

"Took me to see my parents…" I smile, before I realise that I'd just interrupted him. I look up at Haku, feeling a blush rising up my face. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He smiles back. I bite my lip, before continuing, looking back down onto my partly-eaten rice ball.

"I was really happy that you let me see them, even if it was only for a few moments… And I remember when I wasn't going to eat the rice ball, you said that you-"

"Put a spell on it, so it'll give you back your strength." I snap my head up to him, and he chuckles. "Sorry, I did it too." I giggle, and finish up my first rice ball, before taking another from my plate.

"So," I say, my mouth still full of rice. "What happens now?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Wow, I should just rename this chapter 'FLUFF'. Seriously though, sorry about writing **_**so much fluff **_**like every single chapter. You must be getting sick and tired of all this pointless fluff. I didn't know that I craved it so much. But hey, tell me if you do/don't mind it! And sorry that it's a little too short, but I can't think of anything else to write.**

**After this chapter, I should be updating every Friday again, and also, I'll try to make it about 1 000 words longer as well :) So around about 2 300+ words maybe? Tell me what you think!**

**Happy Easter guys!**


	15. Enthusiasm

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away.**

**Chapter 15 – Enthusiasm**

"What do you mean?" Haku looks up from his second rice ball, quirking his brow.

"Well," I start, placing the onigiri onto my plate. "I'm dead, or did die, rather. You told me that there were all these spirits chanting in some foreign language and- But that's not the point. I came back to _life, _Haku. I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't see that every day. There must be _some _reason as to why I'm a spirit."

"Ah." Creasing his brows, he ponders his thoughts for a moment, I presume. "Now that I think about it, I've never actually seen something like that. Humans don't turn into spirits when they die, either. At least, I was never told that they do."

"So, what now then?"

"I guess we could go see Zeniba about it; that is," He smiles. "If you're up for a trip to the Spirit World?" My eyes wide and my mouth hanging open; I'm speechless. I can't breathe. The Spirit World? That would mean that I'd get to see Lin, Kamaji, Boh, No Face and all of my other friends again. I'd missed being at the bath house dearly, even if the work there is a little grimy and greasy. I'll get to pet the susuwatari, and curl up next to Lin after a long night's work. I finally find my voice.

"You're kidding, right?" Haku chuckles.

"Why would I be? You're a spirit now; you belong in the Spirit World." He pauses. "Somehow I felt that you always have belonged there; I'm not exactly sure why." My lips curl up into a soft smile.

"Maybe it's because my friends are there." Haku furrows his brows slightly.

"But you have friends here, don't you?" Rolling my eyes, I lick my lips, before continuing.

"I have friends here in the Human World, yes, but…" I start to trace random patterns on the table top, not willing to meet his eyes. "I've never had any _real _friends here. I've never had anyone like Lin or Kamaji…" I pause, gathering my courage; willing myself to say the words. "I… I've never had anybody like you, either." Feeling warmth spreading into my cheeks, I look up at Haku, and notice the slight rosy tint to his cheekbones as well.

"Is that so…?" He clears his throat, and then pauses for a few moments. "So, about earlier…" I cock my head to the side, urging him to continue. "About how you were… going to kiss me…" I'm only able to stare at the man wide-eyed, feeling the heated blush rise up my neck.

"I, uh…" I cough into my hand and look away. "Have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you do-" Haku overacts out a fake gasp. "You do remember, don't you. I mean, _I _certainly do. I was merely minding my own business, waiting for you – like a _gentleman _– and then you waltz on in, pucker up and go for the gold." He pauses. "That is the proper term, right? Go for the gold? Chihiro." Out of the corner of my eye, I see my dragon friend reaching across the table towards my arm. I flinch, and stand abruptly, knocking over my chair in the process. Feeling flustered and embarrassed, I turn to head to my bedroom, not willing to meet the striking emerald of my companion's eyes. I hear the screech of a chair against the wooden floor, and then feel a tight grip around my arm. I look down to see a hand, clasped around my arm, turning me to face the man.

"Chihiro, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, I…" I stare at the empty plates on the dining table, and I hear a sigh. Haku releases the grip on my arm completely. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking." There's a long, slightly awkward silence between us, before I decide to speak up.

"What about you?" I retort; better late than never, too.

"What?" I look him straight in the eye, feeling a sudden fierceness fill my body.

"You! You nearly did the _exact same thing_, before your towel fell off! What makes you think you can accuse _me_ of such a thing?!" My breathing is heavy and uneven, and I notice the scarlet flush rising up Haku's neck, but I'm not finished yet. "Ever since this afternoon, I've been having these conflicting and confusing thoughts running through my head! I had no idea what I was doing; let alone _why _Iwas doing them!" A crease forms in my brow, and all of a sudden I don't feel mad at all. "At first, I was surprised that you had actually kept your promise, and that made me happy. But then, every time I look at you, I get butterflies in my stomach and get the urge to… I don't know." I look away again, holding onto my arm.

"I don't know about you, Chihiro, but to me, it sounds like you like me or something." I can almost _feel _the smug look on Haku's face. My eyes dart up to meet his.

"W-what?" I sputter. "N-no! I mean, of course I like you! You're my friend!" I immediately regret saying all of those things, and in front of Haku, no less. 'What's wrong with you?! Have you gone mad, Chihiro? Why would you say things like that about him when he's _standing right there?_' I close my eyes, scrunching my brows in disbelief of myself.

"I like you, too, Chihiro. As a friend, of course." I look back up at Haku, cheeks aflame; I _really _want to change the subject. I fake cough, trying to think of _something _to say.

"Ah, so… About the Spirit World…" Letting out a nervous laugh, I continue. "When do you think we should go…?" I hear a chortle escape Haku's lips, which only embarrasses me further.

"Tomorrow, if you'd like." Satisfied with his answer, I give a nod, my lips curling up into a smile.

"Great! Now then, care to help me with the dishes?" Haku grins, grabbing both of our plates off of the table.

"Only if you'd let me."

~o~o~O~o~o~

"I still can't believe you can get magic to do the dishes _for you._" I sigh, before taking a sip of my coffee. "That's just so, so…"

"Easy?" Haku suggests.

"Lazy!" I shoot him a look, and he merely chuckles back.

"I suppose so. But you have to admit," He adds. "It is pretty useful." Looking into my half-empty cup, I ponder my thoughts for a while. I take a few large gulps of the sweetened liquid.

"Hey, Haku?" I look over to my male companion beside me on the loveseat, who looks at me in question. "Why did you tell me not to look back?" The question seems to have caught him off guard, before he quickly regains his composure.

"I'm not exactly sure if it's true, but it's said that if you look back, you'll be stuck between our two worlds forever." Somehow, I was expecting some sort of an answer like that, though I'm not entirely sure why.

"Oh…" Not really knowing what else I could say, I take a few more sips from my coffee. "Well, I'm glad I listened to you, then."

"Me too." Haku gives a slight smile, before drinking from his own cup of coffee. There's a long, dragged-out silence, before I decide to speak up.

"Why'd you come here?" The young man beside me tilts his head a little, his brows furrowed.

"Well," He starts. "I was sleeping peacefully, and then I started to have this weird dream; I saw you. You were scared, afraid; you looked away, so I called out to you. I wanted to help you, but…"

"But?" I urge him to continue.

"That's it; after that, I woke up in a cold sweat." He pauses, taking a few more sips out of his mug. "I had no idea what the dream meant, but I knew I had to get to you, no matter what."

"Well," I smile. "I'm glad you did. Otherwise, I don't know what I would've done."

"Anything for a friend." He smiles back. Somehow the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, and there's something in his words that makes my heart hurt; I don't like it. I down the rest of my coffee – blanching at the extreme sweetness that had settled in the bottom of the mug – and place the cup on the small glass coffee table in front of me. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I look over to Haku, who finishes his own coffee, placing his mug on the table as well.

"So, tell me what's happened in the Spirit World these past eleven years." I pivot myself towards Haku, knees still loosely hugged against my chest. He hums, putting a finger to his chin in thought.

"Where do I start?" He asks; a rhetorical question. "Well, since I had my name back – thanks to you, I was able to quit being Yubaba's apprentice. But since I had nowhere else to go, I thought I may as well continue living at the Aburaya. So, I guess you could say I'm a long-term guest."

"A long-term guest?" He smiles.

"Yeah, something like that. Although, sometimes Yubaba gets angry and demands I leave."

"What do you do then?"

"Not much, to be honest. I merely do some odd jobs around the bathhouse, and even play with Boh on occasion." I soften my gaze, a small smile playing on my lips.

"That's so sweet and considerate of you, Haku." He shrugs.

"I guess." Haku pauses again, pondering in thought. "That's pretty much all there is to it. I didn't do much else up until now." I shoot a disbelieving look at him.

"You're kidding! You mean to tell me you didn't do _anything _in the past _eleven years?_ How is that even possible? _Something_ must've happened."

"Nope, nothing." I roll my eyes. Sensing my disbelief further still, he continues. "Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero." Raising a brow, I silently dare him to continue. "Okay, okay. But the events mostly consist of Lin getting mad at me and various other people; are you sure you want to hear them?" Smiling triumphantly, I nod, and Haku turns his body to face me, crossing his legs to get more comfortable. "Okay, so-" As I listen to my dragon companion, I notice the glimmer of enthusiasm in his captivating emerald eyes. A large grin spreads upon his soft lips, bringing me to smile along with him. I can't help but smile; he's practically radiating with excitement, though I'm not too sure why. Is it because of the story? Or maybe, just maybe… Could it possibly be that he's telling somebody about it, or more specifically, me?

I fight down the blush that wants to creep up my face. I continue to listen to the stories of his past, imagining the comical faces that Lin would've made. The thoughts alone are enough to make me bubble with laughter, bringing Haku to laugh along with me. He starts to use hand gestures, which in turn brings me to wonder if I've ever looked so… so, _animated _whilst telling a story of my past. Except, I realise that I've never actually ever mentioned much about my past to anyone, mostly because I never thought it to be interesting. Apart from my little run-in with the Spirit World, of course; obviously I could never tell anyone about meeting spirits or working in a bathhouse under a powerful witch. No way, I'd be put into a madhouse.

Drawing my attention back to Haku and his story, I find his cheerful demeanour quite contagious. Smiling once again, I begin to think, 'This is going to be a fun night.' whilst resting my head on my knees, shifting myself slightly to get into a comfortable position.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Okay, okay. So I'm a little late. *dodges tomato* How about very? Alright fine! I'm extremely late in updating! I know, I'm a terrible person! I'm sorry, guys. I didn't know it'd take **_**this **_**long to write a chapter. I mean, I tried, but I was hit with the sudden weight of writer's block. I couldn't think of **_**anything **_**to write! Well, **_**that **_**and I'd recently discovered an MMO called Vindictus. I don't where all my time went, honestly. I was going to make this a little longer, but I thought I'd better not keep you waiting any longer. Once again, I'm really sorry for the late update. I mean, three days late! I'll try not to do that again.**

**I can't believe I had gotten so many reviews last week! I think it's a record! Thanks so much guys! Thanks to:**

**Ryu no Kokoro, Heartz4Jesus, Ialiceiamagodness, WhiteTiger246, PianoPanda12, Jikarashino Haru, adriana. purple. 1, diety, PeanutGallerySama and FruitySmell!**

**17 reviews! Wow, thanks so much! I love you all!**

**And a special thanks to Heartz4Jesus for helping me out when she was supposed to be studying for maths XD**

**Jikarashino Haru: To be completely honest, I get really excited every time I read a review from you. Everything you say in yours reviews always makes me feel better, and gets me motivated to write more. I absolutely love your reviews, and take them all to heart. **_**Thank you**_** for your kind reviews :)**

**Don't forget to write a review and tell me what you think! Every review helps me write! Tell me **_**whatever's **_**on your mind, I don't care! If you think I've gone downhill with writing, well, then, I completely agree with you. I think I've lost my ability to write well. Ever since like, chapter five even. I shall shut up now XD I'll get onto writing chapter 16, but I have to start my art assignment soon.**

**I just realised, we're almost at 100 reviews! That's so many! I tell you what, if we reach 100 reviews, I'll give you guys something special ;) Have no idea what it is yet, though!**

**Thanks everyone! 3 **


	16. Return Part I

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. Should I say something more, I don't know, exciting? Funny?**

**Chapter 16 – Return Part I**

Bubbling with laughter, I take a sideways glance at the clock on my kitchen wall.

"Oh my god! We've been talking for hours!" Haku looks up at the clock, his laughter slowly dying down.

"You're right. It's almost one in the morning." He chuckles. "I guess time really does fly when you're having fun, huh Chihiro?" I give him a small smile, before moving to pick up the two abandoned mugs on my coffee table. Swiping up my cup, I reach for Haku's before my hand is stopped by another. I look up at my companion with a questioning gaze. "I'll take care of those." I nod, handing him my mug, watching him pick up his own and retreating to the kitchen. I smile at his act of kindness, before I realise something.

"Ahh, my butt's gone numb." I frown, rubbing my buttocks to try and give them back feeling. I guess it serves me right for sitting in the same position for so long.

"Mine too." Haku states, turning around. "Did you want to rub it for me?" He says, earning himself a scowl. "I'll take that as a no." He grins.

"Whatever." I start down the hallway, towards my bedroom. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Haku." I wave my hand, not really caring if he'd seen the action or not. Before my arm can fall back down to my side, I feel a slight breeze, and then, and hand around my forearm. Turning around, I notice the curiosity in his eyes, and I raise my brow for him to continue.

"Where am I going to sleep? Surely you're not going to throw me out onto the street." He crosses his arms, his eyebrow raised; a very motherly pose. I can't help but let out a giggle at that one. I reach out to one of his arms, silently telling him to unfold them. He complies, and my own hand retreats back to my side.

"What makes you think I'd do such a thing?" I shake my head a little. "Since I don't have any futons, I'm afraid you're going to have to sleep on the couch." Smiling apologetically, I pat my friend on the shoulder. "Sorry, Haku. I'll get you a blanket." Opening the door to my bedroom, I make my way over to the built-in wardrobe, sliding the door open. I rummage through everything on the shelf up the top, before pulling out a soft, warm blanket. I turn, and let out a squeak of surprise, finding Haku standing right in front of me. "U-uh, here's a blanket," I stutter. "In case you get cold." He smiles, taking the blue fabric from me, giving a small nod.

"Thanks." Is all he says, before disappearing into the hallway. I sigh, closing my door, trying to remember the last place that I had carelessly thrown my pyjamas.

~o~o~O~o~o~

I open my eyes and furrow my brows, after tossing and turning for what felt like hours. Staring blankly at the ceiling, I try to calm myself. Sighing a frustrated sigh, I gather my bearings. I attempt to feel my way through the pitch-blackness of my bedroom. After about five minutes of feeling around, knocking things over and of course, stumbling over every invisible object possible, I finally manage to fumble with the door handle, hearing the quiet creak of the door as it slowly opens. I let out a sigh of relief, before ducking out into the dark and slightly eerie hallway. All is quiet, and the only noise I can hear is that of the ticking clock on my kitchen wall.

I quietly tiptoe through the small hallway, trying to be as silent as possible. Peeking around the corner, I peer over the back of the couch, slowly but surely creeping closer. I slink around the other side of the loveseat, finding a form stretched out across it. Gently, I place my hand on the blanket-covered form, leaning closer.

"Haku? Are you awake?" Eyes flutter open, and even in the dark I can see his beautiful emerald orbs; tired, but beautiful. I kneel down on the floorboards then, still in awe of the stunning creature in front of me.

"Can't sleep?" His voice is husky, and for some reason it draws me closer to him. I give a small nod.

"It's impossible to sleep, what with everything that's gone on today." A small smile crosses my lips. "What about you? I hope I didn't wake you up." He props himself up on his elbows, shaking his head slightly.

"It's fine, I couldn't really sleep that well, either." There's a short pause, before I speak up. "So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know; maybe we could continue our conversation from earlier?" I suggest, watching as Haku sits up, scooting over and patting the space beside him. I comply with his gesture, joining him under the comfort of the warm blanket.

"You mean how you were about to kiss me?" Feeling my cheeks warm considerably, I furiously shake my head, punching my male companion in the arm.

"No! Not that one! And besides, what about you? What was all that nosebleed stuff about, anyways? You weren't peeking, were you?" Even in the darkness I can make out Haku's rising blush, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"That's, um… I didn't mean to, uh…" He sputters, before clearing his throat. Looking away, he mutters. "I was worried about you, so I came to see if you were okay… I didn't know the door wasn't closed properly…" He pathetically mumbles. My features soften at this, having already forgiven my friend for his supposed act of 'sin'. I place a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Haku." My lips kick up into a small smile once more. I pause, and my friend turns back to me, smiling back appreciatively. "So, where were we?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

Eyes fluttering open, Haku takes in his surroundings through blurry vision. Vision still a little wobbly, he glances at the clock, and gets a vague glimpse of the time being around ten-fifteen. He attempts to sit up, but inevitably finds that he is unable to. The young man stares down at his chest, waiting for the drowsiness in his eyes to wear off. He continuously stares at the one spot on his abdomen, and his eyes eventually focus on the pleasantly fruity-smelling chestnut hair lying limp across his torso, in which case obviously doesn't belong there. The fruity fragrance instantly places the dragon into the comforting embrace that is a good mood, and the slightest hint of a smile crosses his lips. He's not entirely sure why he hadn't noticed the wonderful smell previously, but he guesses he could've bet that certain 'events' the previous day had something to do with it. Ever so gently, he sweeps a few locks of the silky tresses aside, revealing the beautiful, peacefully sleeping face of Chihiro Ogino. The slight movements under her eyelids tell him that the young woman is dreaming, and the almost undetectable smile on her rosy lips indicate that she's having quite a pleasant one.

For a moment he merely studies the woman's face, admiring her natural beauty. Her long, dark eyelashes cast soft shadows on her cheekbones, and her plump, rosy lips are parted ever so slightly. They both lay there, unmoving; the young man staring at the young woman resting in a peaceful slumber. For a few moments, Haku merely stares at Chihiro, his brain telling him just how _delectable _and _kissable _she looks. He fights the urge to lean down and lock lips with the slumbering maiden.

The young maiden shifts slightly, startling the man. Her eyes flutter open; grey meeting green. Seeing the dragon's surprised features, a small smile spreads across the woman's face.

"Good morning." Chihiro mumbles, bringing her hands up to rub the tiredness out of her eyes; a few tresses of hair falling into her face as she speaks. Smiling back at the woman, Haku sweeps the silky strands of hair out of her eyes, pushing them behind her ear.

"And good morning to you." He shifts slightly beneath her, and Chihiro's eyes widen considerably in realisation of their current position.

"I- uhm- I'm sorry!" She rolls off of the young dragon, falling on the floor with a loud _thump._ A hearty chuckle bellows from Haku's chest, and as he stands up, he holds out his hand for Chihiro, bringing her up with him. "I didn't realise that I fell asleep…"

"That's alright." Haku pauses. "So, what's for breakfast?" He grins. Chihiro frowns, and then gasps, bringing her hands up to her mouth. Her head collides with his chest.

"That was the last of our food last night." She mumbles into his muscled abdomen. "Sorry." A soft chuckle rumbles within the dragon's chest. Opening her eyes abruptly, Chihiro realises something. Haku – the man standing in front of her, the man whom she's leaning her forehead against – is _shirtless._ Feeling the temperature in her cheeks rising, the young woman quickly removes her forehead from the man's torso, suddenly feeling _very _embarrassed and ashamed; ashamed that she had forgotten to ask Hatori for a shirt, and ashamed that she had fallen asleep on said shirtless man. Chihiro looks downward, the floorboards beneath them having sparked a sudden interest in her. She takes half a step back, though she doesn't register that Haku stops chuckling, and looks down at his human friend.

"Chihiro?" She squints her eyes shut, willing her blush away, shaking her head in a very childish manner.

"It's nothing… I just, I just forgot to ask Hatori to get you a shirt is all." Chihiro looks back up at her male companion; a small, apologetic smile on her rosy features. "Sorry… again." She lets out an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. A gentle smile paints itself onto Haku's lips.

"Once again Chihiro, it's alright…" A mischievous grin appears on the man's face. "I'll just get back at you later." All embarrassment gone, Chihiro playfully slaps Haku across one broad shoulder, bringing the young dragon to rub the victimised shoulder, pulling off a mock hurt look on his handsome features. Chihiro groaned, turning away from Haku.

"Let's go."

"Go where?

"To get some breakfast, obviously." There was a short pause between the two. "… And, to get you a shirt." She turns on her heel, heading straight for the exit. Another chuckle erupts from Haku's throat, before he compliantly follows her.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: I'm so, so, so very sorry for not updating for what? **_**Seven weeks? **_**Now that's just unacceptable. But don't fret. I actually **_**have **_**been busy, you know. First of all, I went to Supanova at the Gold Coast, and let me tell you, it was **_**awesome. **_**I got to cosplay in public, and I made so many new friends along the way! As a side note if you went, please don't hesitate to tell me about it! I don't bite! Whether in a PM or a review, it doesn't matter! Tell me if you cosplayed and what you did and if you got a signature or photo with a celebrity. I swear we'll be like the best of friends if you did go.**

**The second thing I was swamped with was rehearsals for my school musical. That takes a lot of effort, you know. Especially for someone who's as out of shape as I am. It also takes quite a lot of commitment, too.**

**And finally, probably the most obvious one, I've been given an endless **_**waterfall **_**of homework and assignments to do. I don't think it's fair, really. I mean, I just want to write fanfiction. Can't anyone understand that?**

****URGENT****

_**I'M STILL BEING SWAMPED WITH HOMEWORK AND ASSIGNMENTS, SO I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'LL BE UPDATING NEXT.**_

**Just to let you guys all know, ****I'm not giving up on this story. no way, no how.**** Sorry to keep you all waiting so long. I've been writing little bits of this chapter at a time; if I found a good time to procrastinate, I would do so in a heartbeat.**

**Thank you all so much for waiting so patiently! I'm surprised that I didn't get any PM's with demands that I update or anything like that. And thank you very much to all the wonderful and awesome people who reviewed previous chapters! Those people are:**

**Ialiceiamagodness, michelle88222, Heartz4Jesus, Jikarashino Haru, Ryu no Kokoro, WhiteTiger246, adriana. purple. 1, FruitySmell, diety and Raven. the. demonic. angel!**

**And to Jikarashino Haru: Every time I read a review from you, my heart swells with happiness and warmth. Thank you for such kind words, friend. Although sometimes I do wish that you had an actual account, I'm really glad I decided to turn on anonymous reviews :)**

**And also to Heartz4Jesus: Thanks for being really patient with me and helping me with ideas and such. I probably couldn't have gotten this far if it weren't for you!**

**Thanks to everyone for such kind words, never forget that I love my readers! Let's try to get the reviews up to 100 this time!**

_**Every review helps me write, I promise!**_


	17. Return Part II

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: If I did own Spirited Away, Haku and Chihiro would've been married with like 500 children by now. Like seriously, what was Miyazaki thinking? Not making a sequel? Pah, that's just absurd.**

**Chapter 17 – Return Part II**

Knocking on her friend's apartment door for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, Chihiro is overcome with a strong sense of déjà vu. She patiently waits for the mechanism to swing open, revealing her good friend. Although, much to the woman's disdain, as the wooden door opens – creaking slightly as it does so – it reveals the much less preferred Akira. Her face falls slightly, but manages to keep her composure. Chihiro offers a tight smile.

"Hello." She's not really sure why she's being so formal exactly, but she couldn't really care less right now. Akira's dirty blonde hair moves with him as he slowly leans on the doorframe. His auburn eyes bore into hers, and she doesn't like it. Not one bit. But alas, for the moment Chihiro can do nothing but merely put up with it, and go with the flow.

"May I help you?" His tone is demeaning and slightly harsh, though Chihiro wisely chooses to ignore it. Clearly he's not a morning person. Wanting to get the matter over and done with, she replies quickly.

"You know how I asked to borrow some pants from you last night?" The man doesn't answer, but instead gives a slow, casual nod. "Well," She starts, rubbing the back of her neck. "It seems that I have forgotten to ask for a shirt, too." She had hoped she hadn't sounded too demanding of the man in front of her. Although those thoughts are quickly discarded when Akira grunts and kicks the door open wider for her and turns for her to follow. Chihiro looks to her right, only to find that her dragon companion stands _very _close to her; she can practically feel the heat radiating from his body. She lets out a surprised gasp, stepping back half a step to catch herself. Feeling her cheeks warm a little, she decides to ignore her friend and just go inside already, before Akira rudely demands that she hurry up. Once again, Haku obediently follows her, closing the door behind the both of them. They spot Hatori in the small kitchen, making herself a coffee. She looks up at the pair, before smiling and scurrying over.

"Haku, Chihiro! So nice to see you!" She hugs Chihiro tightly. "Told you he's got abs." She quickly whispers. Satisfied with the rosy tint of her friend's face, Hatori moves to greet Haku. He moves to bow, although stops when he realises he's being _hugged._ Surprise is evident on the man's face, but nevertheless moves his arms to awkwardly wrap around the woman's back.

"Hey, Hatori." Chihiro smiles, relieved. Hatori moves back, grinning slightly at her friend. She looks between Haku and Chihiro, obviously happy to see the two.

"So, what brings you two here this fine morning?" She grins.

"Chihiro just so happened to forget to get me a new shirt." Haku quickly interrupts. Chihiro feels her cheeks start to warm at the thoughts of previous events. Hatori looks back to her friend, a knowing smile plastered on her pretty face.

"Oh, is that so?" She pauses, her face pulled into an expression of thought. "You guys seem to be in a hurry; were you planning on going somewhere?"

"Yes, actually-"

"First we're going to grab some breakfast," Now it was Chihiro's turn to interrupt. "And then we're heading off to the Spirit World." The young woman smiles a little, eyeing Haku out of the corner of her peripheral vision.

"The Spirit World? What are you going to do there?"

"Well," Chihiro starts. "First, I think I'd like to see all my old friends again. Then, I guess we'll go see Zeniba to ask her if she knows anything. " A perplexed look crosses Hatori's features.

"Knows anything? About what?" Chihiro sighs.

"About me dying and becoming a spirit, Hatori." She deadpans, as if what she was talking about was the most obvious thing in the world. As soon as she finishes her sentence, Akira reappears from the hallway, some navy blue material draped over his arm. Chihiro instantly wishes she hadn't said that, hoping and praying that he hadn't heard what she said. Akira doesn't say a word, but instead tosses the shirt to Haku, in which case he easily catches it.

"Thank you for the shirt. I shall return it as soon as I can." Akira waves a hand, dismissing Haku's offer.

"No need, I don't wear it much anyways. Same with those jeans, too." Haku nods, satisfied with his answer, before unfolding the material, seemingly studying the strange human clothing.

Chihiro, momentarily forgetting her previous panic, looks over at Haku, secretly admiring Haku's delicious abs. She mentally curses at herself for actually asking for a shirt, before quickly dismissing the sinful thoughts.

'I shouldn't be thinking these things! Gah, I wish he'd just hurry up and put that shirt on already!'

'No, you don't.' Her mind contradicts itself. Although, she does strike it as quite odd; her mind doesn't usually do something like this, talking back to her. 'You know that you love seeing him shirtless, or better yet, pantsless.' Chihiro's eyes widen ever so slightly, obviously caught by surprise at the accusation. 'Everyone knows that you love him, and you know that he loves you back; just hurry up and go make out with him already. Both you and I know that everyone's getting sick of you two tiptoeing around each other like this.'

'What do you mean "I love him" and "he loves me back"? Where did all of this nonsense come from? I wouldn't normally think of absurd things like that!' Chihiro furrows her brows accusingly, crossing her arms. 'Who are you, and what do you want?' The 'other voice' in her mind seems to chuckle, before answering.

'I am no one of importance to you, nor your journey; and yet, I am the most important person of all.' This statement seems to confuse the woman.

'What are you getting at, imposter?' The voice chuckles again.

'I am no imposter, Chihiro. I just thought I'd spice things up a little, given that the readers must be getting bored of all this bullshittery nonsense by now. Good luck with everything.' And with that, the voice was gone; long before Chihiro could have possibly realised that the so-called 'imposter' was actually the author of this story herself, the mastermind behind Chihiro's embarrassing moments. And so, Chihiro merely shrugs off the matter, turning her attention once again back to Haku.

He'd already put the shirt on. She curses under her breath for being so distracted by such an insignificant thing. She forgets about the matter, however, when Hatori taps her on the shoulder.

"Let's go talk outside; leave the boys to have a chat." She suggests. Chihiro nods, following behind Hatori out onto the decking.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, but I felt really guilty for not updating until a few days ago. So, even though it's short, I hope you enjoyed it! Look out for part 3 of Return!**

**Also, sorry about the self-insertion thing, I was really bored and didn't know what else to write :P**

**Please tell me what your thoughts are in a review! You know I love reviews :)**

**Thanks to those awesome people who reviewed previous chapters! Those people are:**

**Ialiceiamagodness, Heartz4Jesus, WhiteTiger246, Ryu no Kokoro and kool. smiles. are. kool! Thanks everyone!**


	18. Return Part III

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Spirited Away :(**

**Chapter 18 – Return Part III**

"So," Hatori looks towards me, leaning on the railing. "Were you just going to leave without saying anything to your parents?" My eyes widen, and I gasp. I had completely forgotten about my parents.

"Oh my god! How could I forget?!" I pause, suddenly a little confused. "In fact, how _did _I forget?" Hatori giggles.

"You probably forgot because you have Haku with you; you know, being shirtless and all." Feeling my cheeks warm at my friend's comment, I feel the need to retort.

"…" I finally realise that I'm unable to respond, though my mouth still hangs open, waiting for me to speak. I close my mouth, and instead choose to ignore Hatori, finding it to be the better option. "Whatever." Is all I find to be my argument. I turn back to the apartment, hearing Hatori giggling behind me.

Stepping through the doorway, Haku and Akira immediately end their conversation when they spot me, and I can't help but wonder what they might have been talking about. I shake the thoughts aside, though, and move towards Haku, tugging on his navy blue sleeve.

"Haku," I start. "We have to go." For some reason, I can't meet his eyes; I stare at the floor. Although I can't see him, I imagine that he nods, before thanking Akira for the clothes.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I'd told him that I hadn't talked to my parents for over two years, and he seems confused as to why I'd start a conversation with them now. He'd also questioned before why we had to walk to my parents' house. I merely replied to him that I liked walking. Not much of an explanation, I know.

"I'm sure. They're my parents, after all. Besides, I forgot to grab some money for breakfast." I say sheepishly. "So if you want to eat, they're our last hope." My brain conjures up the feeling of déjà vu once again as I knock on the faded white of the door. I take a moment to wipe my sweaty palms on the thighs of my jeans, before the door opens a few moments later, my mother standing in the doorway.

"Chihiro! How nice of you to visit!" She looks over to Haku. "And you brought a friend, too! How lovely." She smiles kindly at my dragon companion, in which I'm thankful for. Getting dad to like him however, is a different case. "What's your name, young man?" Haku then bows low, showing his respect.

"My name is Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi, ma'am. Pleased to meet you." My mother seems surprised by his manners, and she lets out a polite laugh.

"My, what a name. It'll take some time to remember." She giggles. Haku straightens up, smiling politely.

"Call me Kohaku, or Haku, if you prefer."

"Well then, pleased to meet you, Kohaku." She looks back to me. "Come in, both of you." My mother opens the door wider, and steps aside for us to enter. I'm not exactly sure why, but this scene reminds me of when I went to visit Zeniba, in Swamp Bottom. I can still smell the freshly baked cookies from back then. I shake the thoughts away, my mother closing the door behind us. "So," She starts. "What brings you here all of a sudden? Has something happened?" She leads us over to the lounge room, and my mind is flooded with memories of my childhood. I sit on the loveseat, and Haku sits next to me. My mother moves to sit on the armchair to the side of the living room.

Something in my brain clicks. What am I going to tell her? Should I tell her about the Spirit World? Should I tell her that the person sitting next to me is a dragon? Should I tell her that I died? If so, how should I do it? 'Hey mum, I kind of died this afternoon, and now I'm a spirit. And Haku here is a dragon.' Yeah, right. Like I could do something like that.

"Chihiro?" My mother queries. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen?" I take a deep breath, willing my brain to think of _anything _to say.

"I, um…" Wiping my sweaty palms on my jeans again, I slowly breathe out through my mouth. I look back at my mother. "We need to talk." She gasps.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" She looks at Haku accusingly, and I can already feel my cheeks burn at the thought.

"No, mum. I'm not pregnant." I sigh. "Do you remember when we first moved here?" My mother is just about to respond, when my father walks through the front door.

"I'm home, Yuko. What's for-" He spots us in the lounge room, and pauses from taking his coat off of his broad shoulders. "Chihiro?" He then looks at Haku. "Who's that, and why is he here?" His voice is almost demanding, and even Haku flinched a little when he spoke. I stand up, deciding I'd better not let dad get the wrong idea.

"Dad-"

"You're pregnant, aren't you?" Dad interrupts. Again, I sigh. Why do they have to assume things like that?

"No, dad." I deadpan. "Take a seat, and I'll explain." Eyeing me suspiciously, he moves to sit on the other armchair, reserved for him, of course. He drapes his large coat over one arm of the chair, and continues to give me a stern stare, waiting for me to speak. Again, I take a deep breath. "Mum, dad, do you remember when we first moved here, and dad, you took a shortcut to our house?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

Feeling like I've had to explain the story a million times, I'm thankful that I don't have to explain it to anyone else. Hopefully.

"So," Mum starts, leaning forward in her chair. "Haku here saved us? But you didn't even know each other." For a long time my father stays silent, not speaking a word. I look back to my mother.

"Actually, no. That's not the first time we'd met. We-"

"The first time we met was when Chihiro almost drowned in my river." Haku interrupts. "You probably don't remember, but I know that Chihiro told you that a dragon saved her from drowning." Mum gasps, apparently remembering the incident.

"Yes! That's right! Chihiro, you did say that, didn't you?" She stands up, moving over to Haku. "Oh, thank you, dear. If it weren't for you, if we'd lost Chihiro; I don't know what we would've done." She grabs his hands, bringing him to stand up, before she engulfs him in a warm, appreciative hug. "It was so, so long ago, but it's such an important part of our lives." Haku looks at me, still trapped in my mother's embrace, silently pleading for help. I can see the awkwardness of his features, and decide to step in.

"Which brings us to the reason as to why we're here now." I say, pulling my mother from my dragon companion. Haku visibly relaxes, and he silently thanks me from behind my mother, who perks up at my statement.

"That's right! You didn't come all this way just to tell us that, did you?" I'm about to respond, when my stomach decides to speak up. It growls loudly, and I feel my cheeks flush red in embarrassment. I hear Haku chuckle, and my mother gasps. "You still haven't had breakfast? Oh dear, I'd better do something about this!" With that proclamation, she makes her way to the kitchen, and starts zipping around back and forth between appliances, getting out various ingredients.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"Thanks, mum." I say, rubbing my stuffed stomach. "Those pancakes were great."

"That's okay, Chihiro. But next time you'd better tell me if you hadn't had breakfast; I don't want you to starve." I smile appreciatively.

"Okay."

"So," She says. "Before we were interrupted, you were telling us why you are here?" Nodding, I conjure up the words to explain to my mother.

"That's right. Haku and I came here because I wanted to tell you something important." I say, taking a breath. "I'm going to have to go back to the Spirit World."

"What for…?"

"I have to find out why I became a spirit, mum." I sigh. "I can't just continue living my life while being oblivious as to why I came back to life. I need to find out." Eventually, she nods, a look of understanding crossing her features.

"Alright Chihiro, do as you will. But please, all I ask of you is to be careful, and stay out of trouble." She turns to Haku. "As for you, Haku. Please look after her; she's my only daughter, I don't know what I'd do if I lost her." I look at Haku, and he nods, looking right into mum's eyes, determined to keep his word. I smile.

"I will, Mrs Ogino. You have my word." I look over at dad, who is still as silent as ever. Strange; last time I checked, he was the more talkative one of my parents. Then, he looks at me; a strong, stern mask that he holds on his aging features. My mind tells me to look away from his piercing gaze, but I know better than that. I know it's just a façade.

"You're not going." He says, crossing his arms over his chest.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Sorry I'm late… again. But there's good news! Last night was the final night for the musical I was in, so now I'll get more time to write! Hooray! And even more good news! Most of my assignments have already been handed in by now, and I only have one more to do. **_**But, **_**it is an English assignment, and I have to write a narrative :D You know what that means? Well, let's just say that this fic started out as my English assignment from last year ;) The only problem is, I'll have to try and stop at 1000 words! That's so difficult! Do you want to read what I have so far? If so, here it is!**

The wind howls like a wolf under a full moon, echoing through the void of the plaster walls. A little girl clings tighter to her mother, her tiny fingers curling tightly around her mother's forearm. The girl's father looks over to her, a warm, comforting smile present on his aging features. The tapping of their footsteps on the concrete floor continuously echo throughout the pitch blackness, the sounds endlessly bouncing off of the tunnel wall.

"Don't cling like that Chihiro, you'll make me trip." Her mother scolds, although doesn't make a move to rid herself of the frightened child.

The little girl, Chihiro, both mentally and physically relaxes when she sees the blindingly beautiful light at the end of the tunnel. The trio exit the tunnel, and she momentarily shields her eyes from the sun's harsh rays, before a soft, relieved smile forms on her chubby features. Letting go of her mother's arm Chihiro wipes her sweaty palms on her pink shorts, before bouncing back over to her family's car.

~o~o~O~o~o~

Thinking about the distant memory brings a smile to grace my lips; though it's quickly replaced with a frown as I remember another childhood memory.

"Will we meet again sometime?"

"I'm sure we will."

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go, and don't look back."

**What do you think of it so far? You think my teacher will like it? I hope so. With Unkind Mankind, I feel like I'm losing inspiration to write lately, and I think it might be affecting the story too. I hope that's not the case. Anyways, time to thank my awesome reviewers!**

**Ialiceiamagodness, Ryu no Kokoro, Heartz4Jesus, diety and Jikarashino Haruko!**

**Jikarashino Haruko: It's absolutely fine that you didn't review previous chapters, my dear! Although, I was a little sad when you left for a while. But no worries! I just want to say thank you thank you **_**thank you **_**so much for your kind words. They mean a lot to me :) But lately I've felt that I've gone downhill in writing. I don't know, I've kind of lost my mojo. I'm really glad that you like my story though!**

**diety: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about your request! I just haven't had any time to do anything, sorry. But now that I do have some time, I'll work very hard to get your drawing done! Thanks again for your review!**


	19. Return Part IV

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own it.**

**A/N: whoo roman numerals!**

**Chapter 19 – Return Part IV**

"What?!" The words reach my lips before I realise what I'm saying. "Why?!"

"Because," My father grunts. "You're too young."

"You're kidding." I deadpan. "Too young?! How old do I have to be? Thirty?!" Out of the corner of my eye I see my mother shaking her head.

"That would be better." I hear dad grumble, not meeting my harsh gaze.

"With all due respect, sir-"

"Chihiro, you hardly even know this boy!" Dad jabs an accusing finger towards Haku, cutting him off. "How do I know that you're going to be safe with him? How do I know that he's not going to take you to that spirit place and then do weird things to you? How do I know he's not going to be improper towards you?" With a frustrated sigh, I shake my head; I can feel my hands slowly clenching into tight fists.

"How do I- Dad! Have you not been listening to anything that I've said for the past-" I take a quick glance at the clock on the living room wall. "Two hours?! I've known Haku since I was _five!_ I'm pretty sure I can trust him by now!" I feel that my clenched fists are starting to shake; I'm losing my temper. "You know what? I wish I'd never told you about the Spirit World! I wish that I hadn't come here in the first place!" Taking in a deep breath, I pause for a few moments to try and calm myself down. "I'm twenty-one years old, dad. I'm an adult, meaning that I'm old enough to make my own decisions; and if you can't accept that, then I guess you'll never understand me." I turn to my mother, whom looks like she's about to break down in tears. A small, apologetic smile paints onto my face. "Thanks for the pancakes, mum. They were delicious. Nice seeing you again." Latching onto Haku's arm, I quickly make my way towards the exit, dragging him behind; I don't bother to spare my father another glance.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"…Do you want to talk about it?" I turn around, smiling appreciatively at my dragon companion. Somehow we had ended up at the tunnel to the Spirit World. I had been standing in front of the small, double-sided statue that guards the tunnel; I was angry, and needed someplace quiet to calm down. Apparently this is the place to be in such a situation.

"No, I'm alright. Thanks." I pause. "It's just; I thought that dad would be more understanding than that. I don't know why he was acting like that." Hearing footsteps, I look up, and straight into those enticing emerald eyes of Haku's. For some strange reason, I can never seem to look away. He smiles a heart-warming smile, and it's much too contagious for me to simply not do the same.

"Now, are you going to come back to the Spirit World willingly, or am I going to have to drag you there myself?" Haku asks, and I can't help but let my mouth drop agape in surprise.

"Why I- Of course I'm going back to the Spirit World willingly, why would you think otherwise?" I huff, stomping my way over to the old tunnel in a childish manner. Hearing Haku chuckle behind me, I realise that he only said that to try and cheer me up a little. I smile a soft, thankful smile, but I keep up my little charade nevertheless; this smile of mine will be kept secret.

~o~o~O~o~o~

"I can't believe it, I'm actually back."

"You sure are." I hadn't noticed that Haku had caught up to me, and in my brief state of surprise I whip my head towards my male companion, before turning back towards the sea of green ahead of us. Haku casually moves forward a few steps, before turning back to me and asking; "Well, are you coming or not?" He grins, and I find his smile so contagious that I can't help but grin myself. He holds out a strong hand for me to hold, and I gladly comply, letting the warmth of his larger hand seep into mine. The small gesture brings on a barrage of memories to flood my mind.

'Just like old times.' I think; a small smile creeping up onto my face.

Everything is so familiar, like I was here only yesterday. I remember everything; every little detail about the rocks and pebbles that we hopped over, about the food stalls and the place where my parents turned into pigs; right down to the red railings on the bridge of the Aburaya. I move over to the railings on the left; Haku follows behind, before joining me on my right.

"You shouldn't be here…" Haku mumbles, although I don't quite catch his words.

"Pardon?"

"It's almost night. Get out of here, now…" I smile, catching onto his memory recollection.

"…This is where we first met, huh?" I softly mention to my friend. He turns his gaze away from the scenery, looking down at me.

"This isn't where we first met, Chihiro." I shoot him a questioning look. "Don't you remember? The first time we met was when you dropped your little pink shoe into my river." He smiles softly.

"Oh, right." Once again I look over to the wide grassy plains before us; the long grass swaying gently in the breeze. There's a long silence before I decide to speak up again. "…I'd call that coincidence."

"What?"

"The first time we met," I explain, repeating what I said. "I'd call that coincidence."

"Ah, I see… What about the last time we met; here on the bridge? What would you call that?"

"Hmm…" I ponder over my thoughts, rubbing my forefinger and thumb over my chin in thought. A small smile spreads on my lips. "Fate. I'd definitely call that fate."

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Oh my goodness, I've finally realised just how long this is dragging out for! And on top of that I'm late again! I'm so sorry! I'm really bad at this. I'll try to make things go quicker, and to the point. Problem is, I have no idea what's going to happen! If you have any ideas, please write them in a review or PM and send it my way! Any tips for writing will also be much appreciated. And sorry for the extremo-short chapter, I just couldn't think of anything else to write! The argument between Chihiro and her dad was kinda fun to write, though.**

**AND**

**Since I've been lazy and fat and haven't updated in forever, I've posted my one-shot (now turned into a two-shot) from my mini English assignment this term. It's been posted under the name "Emerald-Eyed Stranger". Look out for it! You can bet it'll be very interesting! I'm turning it into a two-shot to make things a little more interesting.**

**Anyways, thanks to those awesomely rad people who reviewed last chapter! Those people are:**

**Heartz4Jesus, Ialiceiamagodness, WhiteTiger246, Ryu no Kokoro, Jikarashino Haru, diety and kool. smiles. are. kool!**


	20. Yu-Bird

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I think you'd know by chapter 20 that I don't own anything at all ;-; Absolutely nothing belongs to me but my precious Hatori. And that other guy… What's his name? Akira was it? Eh, that'll do.**

**Chapter 20 – Yu-Bird**

I lean over, gripping the faded red of the bridge railing, taking in the mixed scents of all the different dishes and delicacies set out for the spirits. My gaze takes in every beautiful detail of the scenery ahead of us, from the noisy train rushing by below the bridge, the sea of green gently swaying in the breeze as far as the eye can see, to the amazingly breathtaking array of colours that paint the sky, right above the slowly sinking sun. There's a gentle pressure on my right hand, capturing my attention. I look down to see Haku's larger hand covering mine, and then look up into his gentle features; my curiosity reflecting right back into his eyes.

"What about yesterday?" He queries. "What would you call that?" I hum thoughtfully, my brows stitching together in concentration. The first time we'd met was definitely coincidence; that much I know for sure. The last time we met – here on the bridge, eleven years ago – I thought would have been fate. But yesterday? Nothing comes to mind. I look into Haku's eyes to say that I'm not sure in reply to his question, when my brain finally conjures up the word that I'm looking for. I'm not entirely positive it's the perfect word for the occasion, but I suppose it'll do for now. Smiling, content enough with my decision, I open my mouth to say my answer, when an angry voice interrupts me.

"Human! What is a _human_ doing here?!" The voice bellows. Surprised, I whip my head around to look into the hateful glare of the little green frog that I never discovered the name of. He jabs an accusing finger towards me, making me flinch at the sudden movement. He spat out the word 'human' as if it were venomous. "_You!_ What are you doing here?! Leave, now! You're stinking up the place!" Then, the little green frog is suddenly engulfed in a strange, bubble-like sphere, trapping him inside. His frozen figure stares through my body with glassy eyes, his unmoving stature still in the same accusing position.

"That should hold him for a while, but not for long." Haku says hastily. "Hurry Chihiro, before the spell wears off." He tugs me towards the bath house, through the little gate on the left and into the side gardens.

"Will he-" My sentence is cut short when Haku's finger is brought up to my lips. I can already feel the burning blush creeping up onto my cheeks, both at my surprise and from the close contact.

"We need to keep quiet if you don't want to be discovered." He says in a hushed tone. I nod, letting him know that I understand, before repeating my unfinished question.

"Will he be alright?" I all but whisper, and Haku shows a small, tight smile.

"He'll be fine. I merely froze him in place for a few moments, and then placed a memory spell on him."

"Memory spell? Does that mean you-"

"Erased his memories, yes. Only up to the point where he saw us, though. So it'll be like we were never there." He says reassuringly, finishing my sentence.

"… So, what now?"

"Now, we wait." He firmly replies.

"For what?"

"For _whom._" Haku corrects me. "We're waiting for Lin; she should be coming out here pretty soon." He pauses, furrowing his brows. "… I hope."

"You _hope?_" I unintentionally raise my voice, which in turn beckons Haku to bring a finger to his lips, silently requesting me to be quiet. Before I can whisper an apology to him, though, a loud squawk fills the air. His eyes widen, and his head shoots upwards to stare at the strange creature momentarily, before he snaps his attention back to me in slight panic.

"_Get down!_" He whispers harshly, throwing himself onto me in his haste; pushing my body closer towards the ground. I can do nothing but stare; it's as if my surroundings are going in slow motion. First, I notice the unbelievably pure and raw panic swimming in Haku's eyes as he stares at the creature, throwing himself onto me. Then, I notice the gentle breeze making the fragrant flowers sway to and fro. Amongst the beautiful array of colourful flowers, I notice a tiny ladybug climbing up a flower's stem, clinging to it for dear life. Another breeze, a little stronger this time, sweeps away the insect, sending it into the endless blue sky. Then, I see the impeccably green blades of grass swaying along with the flowers, reminding me of how alike they are compared with Haku's eyes. Something tickles the end of my nose, bringing me out of my reverie. I look up, only to see that Haku had also turned his attention towards me, rather than up at the sky. His beautiful eyes are a little wider than they were before, and his _oh so soft _lips are parted ever so slightly… Not that I would know how soft his lips are or anything. One could only imagine what… _wonders _those lips could do to-

I feel my cheeks burning at the mere thought. Although, it's only when I notice the immensely comical shade of scarlet spreading generously over the whole of Haku's face – right up to the tips of his ears, mind you – that I finally realise what sort of position we're in… Again. My wrists are being pinned down by his strong, warm hands, and his legs have somehow entangled themselves with mine. Although, the two more… _prominent _facts that bring the mind to wander not-so-far are that firstly, his face is so close to mine that I can practically _taste _his breath – in which case for a personal note for no one else is to ever know, smells kind of minty and refreshing; and second, well, our hips are so close together that we may as well be the same person. A moment of extreme awkward silence proceeds.

"S-s-sorry!" He blurts hastily. But as I stare in wonderment – and also embarrassment – at his beet-red face, I can't help but think he looks cute like this.

"N-no problem." I stutter, cursing inwardly. I clear my throat. "But what was that thing anyway? I didn't get a chance to see it."

"That," He says, moving off of me and lending me a hand to sit back up. A shiver shoots up my spine from the sudden absence of warmth, and the tingling feeling his body had left has got me craving more. "Was Yu-Bird."

"Yu-Bird? Why are we hiding from him?" I say, tilting my head to the side. "He's my friend too, Haku." He sighs.

"I know that, but if he finds out that you're back, he'll tell Yubaba straight away. Who knows what she'd do if she found out you're here again."

"Oh." Is all I manage to say. Another awkward silence passes, and I look back down at the small surroundings, trying to think of something to say. Then, I hear footsteps coming from behind Haku, and look up. I panic a little, thinking one of the workers might have found us. Although, my worry quickly dissipates as I look into the eyes of the same sharp, fierce brown eyes I've known since I was ten. Lin.

"Sen…?"

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Alrighty, that'll have to do for now, cause I've got nothing else to write for the moment. I've fought a fierce battle against my writer's block, and I have almost conquered it… I think. I'm so very sorry for the extreme delay… again. Things should hopefully be picking up again very soon, so I'll hopefully be able to update every single week, and on time too :P I'll try to keep updates of how the story's going on my profile.**

**As a side note, I dyed my hair for the first time! What colour you ask? Pink of course! It kinda suits me, actually.**

**Thanks to my awesomesauce reviewers for previous chapters!**

**NarutoSwag99, Hana no Kamisama, LacrymosaRules, anon1, binglebop, Hikaru69, diety, Jikarashino Haru, kool. smiles. are. kool, Sereenalovesanime, toshirofan4ever, anon2, voldybadass and Liquid Blade!**

**And of course, every ten chapters I'll also thank the awesome peeps who followed and faved! Thanks to:**

**707cloud, Allyieh, Avasinclair123, ChibiMonstar, Eliza272, FrostRose, GF255, Hikaru69, Ialiceiamagodness, Izaline Cullen, KiaraP, LacrymosaRules, MrPirate461, Rebral, Scarlet Ammo 19, Sereenalovesanime, Shiro-Chan0001, Sunrisepainter, allanimationlover, binglebop, fandomnerd12, stephie249 and Liquid Blade for following!**

**707cloud, Aleta123, Black Kaitou, ChibiMonstar, Chihiro Sen Nushi, Eliza272, GF255, Hana no Kamisama, Hikaru69, rosebud0306, Ialiceiamagodness, LacrymosaRules, NightshadeRoses13, Shiro-Chan0001, Sunrisepainter, WhiteTiger246, allanimationlover, binglebop, fandomnerd12, helikesitheymikey, kesshou-douwa, kool. smiles. are. kool, shirogami naoh, stephie249, voldybadass and Liquid Blade for favouriting!**

**Anon1: Thanks so much for your review! I appreciate your ideas and suggestions, and I'll definitely take them into account!**

**Anon2: Haha thank you very much and worry not! You got what you wished for! I'll try to update more often, too c:**

**Jikarashino Haru: Hello again! Last time I was in such a rush to update, that I completely forgot to reply to your review! I'm so sorry! I guess I'll just have to reply to both of your reviews now :P**

**I'm fairing quite well at the moment actually! Aside from having no idea what to do for my sculpture in Art :L But aside from that- yes, exactly! I really feel that you understand me deeply, and I respect that. Thanks so much for your kind words, I really appreciate the advice. In fact, I was so moved when I read it the first time, that I had actually laid down in bed, and did exactly what you told me to do. It really helped me, too. I had gotten a few ideas for my story, and before I knew it, I was writing chapter 20 :P I really do hope that you know how much your words affected me, and I do hope that you can start writing again! I'd love to read something that you've read! Although, they'd have to be in English, otherwise I'd have trouble deciphering what it would say XD**

**Out of place? My goodness, no! You wrote what you felt, and it had moved me deeply. I really appreciate a good, honest review like that, and I enjoyed reading it too. So don't you worry about 'improper' or 'out of place', as long as it's honest, I'm cool with anything that anyone says. I'd also taken your advice, and added another little bit of fluff in here for ya ;) I always write to please my readers (and besides, who could argue with a little more fluff?). I've sorta-ish planned out in my mind what I can do in future chapters, so I guess it's just up to whether or not I can put them into words :P Thanks for your reviews!**


	21. Lin

**Unkind Mankind**

**Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape or form of the male gender, so therefore I cannot possibly be Hayao Miyazaki.**

**A/N: As a response to a review I got from a Guest, of course there'll be more! I have a feeling I'll never finish this fic ^^"**

**Chapter 21 – Lin**

Sen. Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time; eleven years to be exact. As I gaze into the sharp russet eyes of my dear childhood friend, I reminisce the days from when I worked at the famous Aburaya Bath House under Yubaba's harsh ruling claw. The work was tough, yes, but it was nothing that my determined ten year-old self couldn't handle. I was on a mission; I had to save my parents from their presumed fate of turning into bacon.

"Is that really you?" Lin's voice is just barely audible, and I notice that her lower lip is trembling. A soft smile spreads across my face.

"Yeah, it's me, Lin." I stand, and only then does Lin come at me with such a great force that I almost fall over, if not for her amazingly strong arms lifting me off the ground. I let out a squeak of surprise, not prepared for the sudden impact. She embraces me tightly, as if I were about to slip out of her grasp and disappear forever. The thought makes me smile, and I return the embrace almost as tightly as she.

"It's good to see you, Lin." My voice is just barely above a whisper, and I'm struggling to hold in my emotions.

"You too, Sen." She sniffles. "You're such a dope… I missed you; we all did." She says, and I move to hold Lin at arm's length.

"I thought you would have forgotten me by now." Hearing this, she gasps in mock horror, before grabbing my head and ruffling my hair.

"Why ever would you say that?" I can tell she's trying to feign hurt, though I can hear the grin in her voice.

"It's been eleven years, Lin. Besides," I grin. "Who would remember a clumsy, scrawny, stinking old human like me?"

"Are you kidding? Before you came around, everyone was so bored working at this dump; of course everyone remembers you. You were the talk of the whole town!"

"Really?" Lin's about to reply, when Haku suddenly clears his throat. '_Whoops._' I think. 'I forgot he was here.' I laugh at my forgetfulness. "Sorry, Haku." Lin lets go of her grip on me, and I straighten up, scratching the back of my head.

"It's alright," He says, waving the matter off. "But we need to get going soon if we want to get to Zeniba's before dark."

"Yubaba's sister? Why are you going to see her?" Lin queries. "What are you planning, Lizard?" She jabs an accusatory finger into Haku's chest, whilst furrowing her brows.

"Now Lin, why ever would you want to know _that?_" Haku smirks, crossing his arms casually.

"Because," She jabs hard at his chest again. Lin prods with each emphasised word she says. "_I, _unlike you, actually _care _about my family's _wellbeing. You _on the other hand, are apparently _incapable _of caring about someone _other _than _yourself, _you self-centred bastard_._" With one final jab, Lin folds her arms defensively over her own chest. I'm genuinely surprised by her harsh words, and I wonder if all that prodding is going to leave a bruise. I notice that Haku's eyebrow starts to twitch in frustration. It must be getting on his nerves.

"…Lin? Who did you mean by 'family'?" I ask, unsure if I'd heard correctly. She turns towards me, smiling a warm smile.

"You of course, ya dope." She grins. "You're like a little sister to me, Sen. I _am _capable of caring about people, ya know." She shoots her gaze back to Haku. "Unlike _you._" She deadpans.

"What do you mean I don't care? Of course I care!" He shoots back, finally snapping.

"And so he speaks! That's nice, otherwise I would've thought you didn't have the _guts _to say something." Sarcasm drips from her voice like a raindrop sliding down a leaf.

"_Lin._" He growls. Sighing, I clear my throat at an attempt to grab their attention. It fails miserably.

"Erm, guys?" They merely stand on the spot, glaring at one another. Lin fires a victorious smirk towards Haku, and I can see that his fists are now clenched tightly at his sides.

"What're you going to do, Lizard Breath?"

"Why you-"

"Stop fighting!" I all but yell out. My hands are balled into tight fists at my sides, at an attempt to keep myself from exploding. I don't want to have a fight with my closest friends just after I'd met them again for the first time in eleven years. Lin's hands drop to her sides. They both look directly at me, before bowing their heads in guilt.

"Sorry." They say in unison. I would've thought the action to be quite funny, had I not been ticked off by the both of them.

"Lin," I start, and she looks up at me. "Haku and I are going to Zeniba's to find out… To find out why I was brought back to life." She furrows her brows, clearly confused.

"Brought back to life? Sen, what's going on?" Taking a deep breath, I mentally prepare myself. For what exactly, I'm not sure.

"I died yesterday, Lin." Her eyes widen considerably. Lin slowly looks over to Haku.

"So, that's why you left so suddenly yesterday…?" Haku only nods, a guilty look spreading across his face.

"I'm sorry I- I didn't get to you on time…" He looks away, but I don't need to see his face to be able to see that he's ashamed of himself, and my heart goes out to him.

"…We should tell Kamaji." Lin suggests suddenly. "He should know what happened, too." A small, sad smile forms on my face, and I nod.

"Okay." We head for the old, rickety stairs down the side of the bath house, with Lin right in front of me, and Haku following behind gloomily.

~o~o~O~o~o~

**A/N: Sorry for another short chapter this week, but I **_**did update early for once in my miserable life.**_** I reeeeeally wanted to just update on time, I love you all so much *lessthanthree* If I can get an early start on chapter 22, I will hopefully be able to update next Friday, just like I used to. But, I am very, very busy this week and next week. I'll try to update my profile to keep you guys updated on what's happening with my fics!**

**Now to thank my awesome sheep peeps that reviewed! Thanks to:**

**binglebop, NarutoSwag99, Heartz4Jesus, WhiteTiger246, diety, Sereenalovesanime, Hikaru69, Guest 1, PeanutGallerySama, Hana no Kamisama, Jikarashino Haruko and Guest 2!**

**Jikarashino Haru: No problamo, friend! Anything I read from such a kind person can never be taken badly, I think. No worries! If you ever decide to write something in English, don't hesitate to ask me to proofread it for you! I'd be glad to go over it c: And thank you very much, I quite enjoyed the fluffy part myself ;)**

**Of course! I'll try not to push myself too hard, but then I do need to motivate myself, otherwise I'll get nothing done! Again, thanks for more of your endless kind words, they always warm up my heart and make me smile. Until next time! o/**


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